Dairy industry 'paper’ flawed

Dairy industry 'paper’ flawed

Federated Farmers is disappointed to see Massey University supporting attempts to use academia to tarnish the dairy industry by pretending a student’s academic hypothesis is established fact.

“The paper is being discredited by the authors’ academic peers as being sloppy,” says Andrew Hoggard, Federated Farmers Dairy Chair.

“Unfortunately Joy, Death and Foote’s conclusions are drawn off assumptions, which are out in the world now and we have to rely on the intellect of its readers to see through its many untruths.”

“We support the authors’ desire to have ‘accurate reporting of real costs’ but the student’s thesis only looks at the negative externalities under very poor and inaccurate assumptions of the dairy industry while ignoring the positives. Therefore it could not possibly arrive at an accurate conclusion.”

“Some of these inaccuracies are blaringly obvious such as the value of the dairy industry which is cited at $16.6 billion, when it is well known it is $18.1 billion, but there are other inaccurate facts and figures that if you weren’t in the field you would have to take their word for.”

“To give you an idea, the report used the 1980’s figure suggesting Taranaki had 40% of its sites exceeding the Drinking Water Standard. If the authors had bothered to talk to the Taranaki Regional Council they would have found the more pleasing result of just 4% (cite pg. 17 of the 2014 Taranaki State of the Environment Report) of sites in Taranaki exceeding the Drinking Water Standard.”

“When comparisons are made it makes statistical sense to at least use figures that are within10 years of each other especially when they are available.”

“If ALL nitrogen went into the water, there was no dilution from rainfall, all water was used for drinking and if we wanted the nitrate levels to be zero rather than the drinking standard of 11.3 mg NO3N/L, then yes indeed it could cost $10 billion to clean up, but this is a not our reality.”

“As the well respected Professor Jacqueline Rowarth said in light of the paper, ‘you can’t just add things up and say this is the bottom line’.”

Professor Rowarth, Waikato Professor of Agribusiness, added, “Farmers do a very good job of managing their soils so that impacts are minimal and they’re putting huge infrastructure in, particularly dairy farming, to ensure that both the economy and the environment are protected.”

“We need our academics to produce material that helps us move forward and this paper is damaging. I go back to Professor Frank Scrimgeour’s (Director of the Institute for Business Research at Waikato University) comments that the paper has raised awareness but in terms of the individual components, they cannot be added together credibly in the way that they’ve done to say that this is the outcome. It’s sloppy research.”

Mr Hoggard adds “The conversation is being held at a community level, as part of the Government’s National Policy Statement for Fresh Water Management. There is also progress being made by the industry and research centres such as the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium.”

“More of this approach in maintaining our position as the world’s most carbon efficient primary producer is what we need, and I think we are able to ensure we are the most environmentally friendly in the world if we keep up the conversation, and Research and Development.”

Mr Hoggard concluded “The industry is engaged in the environmental space and is investing millions at both corporate and individual levels. We welcome research that helps move the economy and the environment forward. Unfortunately this does not.”

ends

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