Food, Farms and Freshwater

Food, Farms and Fresh Water is developing an accreditation brand that recognises responsible waterway management.

In 2007 the Bartons and resource management lawyer Natasha Green were on opposite sides in a case in the Environment Court. Natasha was representing the Environmental Defence Society during the final mediation process, challenging some of the science around aspects of the allocation of the nitrogen discharge allowances and the 20% cut in the manageable nitrogen going into the lake.

Natasha has experience in the Land and Water Forum process where she learnt first-hand from NIWA scientists about the state of New Zealand’s water quality. She also co-authored a Landcare Trust water management publication “Community Owned Rural Catchment Management, A Guide For Partners”.

The Food, Farms and Fresh Water project started with resource management specialist and environmental planner Rhys Millar from Dunedin and Natasha Garvan from Auckland. It then expanded to include Taupo Beef farmers Mike and Sharon Barton who Natasha and Rhys had been inspired by when they heard Mike speak years ago at a conference.

Natasha and Rhys, who has a background in accreditation particularly in the forest industry, entered a business development programme run by the Akina Foundation (www.akina.org.nz).  This is aimed at growing social enterprise across NZ. The programme is supported by Contact Energy and the Department of Internal Affairs. The foundation has 11 start-up social enterprises in its programme, all seeking to develop sustainable business models by the end of the six month period.

After the six months are up, each of the start-up teams will present their business plans, each seeking a combination of development funding, seed investment, and partnerships to take their ventures forward. Natasha and Rhys applied and were successful and were advised by several people to include Taupo Beef owners Mike and Sharon Barton as part of their plan. The Bartons receive a price premium for their beef of 15% because it is marketed with a story and from a regulated water quality environment.

The Bartons run a farm that operates under New Zealand’s toughest environmental standards for water quality and are leading the way in demonstrating that environmental guardianship and good business are not mutually exclusive.

Intensive farming can significantly harm the quality of streams and rivers. “We are trying to incentivise water quality improvement in agriculture and enable farmers to reinvest in farming practices that deliver world-leading environmental outcomes” says Mike. He says this story is all about getting consumers to recognise they are part of the agricultural process and acknowledging farmers who are doing the right thing.

“We are saying that eating is the final step in the agricultural process. We can’t place all the blame for water quality on farmers. The community, including consumers, have to be part of the ultimate solution as well.”

Mike says food producers around the world have spent 200 years convincing people that food is cheap but cheap food doesn’t pay all the costs associated with its production. As a consequence, negative externalities like water pollution aren’t accounted for either in the cost of farming or in the cost of food.

And with increasing water quality standards – particularly in the Lake Taupo catchment where farmers have to operate under a very strict nitrogen cap – farmers need to be paid the true costs of what they are producing.

“Instead of farmers looking at water quality regimes as an imposition and a cost, maybe they should look at it as an opportunity to add value to their farming operations. Ultimately we want consumers to pay a premium for an accredited product.”

The team is developing and further refining their business plan to create a strong model and brand proposition, as well as an investment plan for their business.

Natasha says their project isn’t promising to deliver price premiums. “We are not looking at the products, we are putting together the accreditation system. It’s a voluntary process involving willing farmers who want to work with us.”

They are also planning to launch pilot studies in catchments throughout NZ but this work is not yet locked in. The project is pulling together science from different catchments around the country and developing a mark and accreditation process that will have validity for a range of stakeholders.

“We hope our work will support brands like Taupo Beef and we want our solution to be scaleable across NZ.”

New water quality legislation is about to be implemented, but the cost of doing it will be more than regional economies can bear or cope with unless value is added to farming products, Mike says.  They are also hoping that their accreditation process and brand will be able to incorporate recognition for biodiversity work as well as fresh water quality. And they’d like to make the accreditation framework available to all farmers from day one, including dairy and horticulture.

“We have a massive amount of support from a whole range of corporates and government agencies and everyone we are talking to.”

Mike says they’ve gained a lot of traction in the process as a result of winning the 2014 Waikato Ballance Farm Environment Awards. “If you get the story right and get valid science and valid accreditation to support your claim, then consumers will be part of the solution and will pay a premium.”

New Zealand agriculture makes a number of claims which in some cases run the risk of not standing up to scrutiny around the environment, so we have to lift our game. “It’s a big job developing the brand and the story. Most consumers would like to do the right thing, but when you follow them around with a shopping trolley, they often buy the cheapest product.” It’s also part of moving out of the commodity market scene and into branded products , a move which also reduces risk around fluctuations in commodity products where the cheapest source of supply sets the price. “We have to get out of that space,” Mike says.