Essay by Eric Worrall
New Zealand is in a food crisis. Food prices jumped 11.3% over the last 12 months, many families are struggling. The government response is punitive climate taxes and regulations on food production.
How New Zealand plans to tackle climate change: Taxing cow burps
Story by Rachel Pannett
Photography by Cameron James McLaren
Feb. 1 at 6:30 a.m.…
His pedigree cows rank among New Zealand’s most productive cattle, the result of careful breeding and quality grazing land. Millions of years of volcanic activity in the area have created rich soils ideal for this kind of free-range, grass-fed farming, helping turn dairy cows into the country’s biggest export earners.
But the digestive processes of the livestock — basically, their burps — emit a powerful greenhouse gas called methane, and as a result, agriculture makes up half of the country’s emissions. Now, the island nation, dubbed the Saudi Arabia of milk for its dominant role in global dairy trade, faces a reckoning over how to balance the outsize contribution that ranchers make to the economy against New Zealand’s need to meet its greenhouse gas pledges.
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Some farmers will need to reduce their herds to meet those targets, which many worry could drive them out of business. Government modeling suggests that by 2030, sheep and beef revenue would drop by around 20 percent — making many farms nonviable.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2023/new-zealand-cows-burps-methane-tax/
The New Zealand food crisis;
Food prices skyrocket: Largest annual increase in 32 years as inflation bites hard
By John Weekes
19 Jan, 2023 07:49 AMFood prices jumped 1.1 per cent in December and were 11.3 per cent higher than a year earlier.
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Grocery food prices were up 11 per cent, fruit and vegetable prices up 23 per cent, and restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food 7.8 per cent.
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The Act Party today blamed Labour for the rising food prices.
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“The Government should stop smothering food producers with bureaucracy and nonsensical rules.”
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Foodstuffs said the tight labour market, increasing wages, weaker NZ dollar, increasing fertiliser costs for suppliers, and the upcoming end to fuel subsidies were also influencing prices.
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Read more: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/food-prices-skyrocket-by-largest-annual-increase-in-32-years/25HSF5RF4BFGDM2D6XLGB7IYFQ/
Socialists always find a way to kill agricultural production. The US baby formula shortage was due to government meddling. In Netherlands, socialist politicians ordered police to shoot at farmers, to enforce draconian climate action inspired fertiliser rules. Sri Lankan socialists caused a food crisis and economic crash, by implementing country wide organic farming, banning imports of fertiliser and agricultural chemicals, a move which at the time was celebrated by Western greens.
Climate change is just the latest socialist excuse for meddling. Their endless interference, taxes and pointless regulations, the conceited bureaucratic conviction that they know better than people who work the land or manage the factories, always eventually breaks something important, like people’s ability to buy enough food to feed themselves.
There might be a chance Biden will try to interfere with the New Zealand cow/milk tax when he hears that ice cream production will decrease. 11% inflation? Amateurs! Here in Argentina it is 97%.
97%?
What we call a consensus…
In both cases I’m in the 3%.
No chance .
The US dairy farmers are highly protected from foreign imports ( as well as subsidised ) and socialised with a set market price(s) for raw milk
https://www.idfa.org/how-farm-milk-is-priced
Its been US style agrarian socialism for a very long time and supported by rural elected representatives
You’re comparing apples to oranges. The People’s Republic of New Zealand’s diktats are designed to reduce dairy production, driving up the cost of a fundamental commodity and reducing their global competitiveness. The complicated pricing scheme for milk set by the U.S. government is designed to set a minimum price to prevent domestic dairy production from disappearing to countries that can produce it more cheaply. It isn’t socialist, it’s protectionist. Socialism dictates the maximum price producers can charge. You can argue the defects of this kind of protectionism versus a simple free market but it ensures that food production—arguably the most important thing any country produces (you can’t live without food for very long) next to energy—remains in the country.
A long primer on U.S. milk pricing:
https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/42300/15268_aib761_1_.pdf?v=41055
Any (US) government setting the price is socialism. Im not sure exactly the details but I know the dairy coop here sets the minimum price for its suppliers , very very few get more than that as theres normally only one processor in that district. US milk would be the same as milk has to be collected and processed quickly and can only be stored as dried milk powder.
Socialism is setting a minimum wage too ( but Im sure the dairy farmers get their “minimum ” price adjusted ( upwards) every year . Am I right ?
The things you mention about food production ‘remaining in the country’ is bizzare as the US is a major exporter corn , beef , soya beans pork and yes dairy for the world. Dairy products and dried milk powder are no different as major commodities.
Its pure agrarian socialism and protectionism, using the powers of the state , which suits you Im sure but dont try to pretend otherwise as you have your snout in the governments trough , feed by consumers paying higher than world prices
It’s tragic that Argentina has been pin balling between Peronist fascism and State socialism for many decades. Hopefully, we’re not heading down that path in the US.
So food prices in New Zealand have risen 11.3% in a year. I presume that’s an average increase, just like the average global temperature has risen by 1.2 degree C in a century or more.
Anyone who shops in supermarkets should know that the price of food varies considerably, depending on the season and the particular shop you are in..
In Australia, it’s common to find, for example, that Broccoli in Woolworths might be $7 a Kilo, whilst in the Aldi store, just a short distance away, the Broccoli is only $4.50 a Kilo. The Woolworth’s price represents a 55% increase over the Aldi price. Such variations are common when comparing prices for the same product in different stores.
If anyone is having trouble paying for food necessities, then shop around for cheaper products or different product that are in season and cheaper. The season and the weather affect food prices. When Blueberrie are in season, they are much cheaper, and the same applies to many food products.
Anyone who is unable to adapt to an average increase of 11.3% in food prices, needs re-educating.
They look at a large range of products. Not just effen brocolli.
Of course they do (or should). 11.3% average probably means that some products have risen by 100%, other products by 50%, some products not at all, and some products are half the price or even less than half the price they were a year ago.
Climate is always variable, and adaption is the solution. Only ‘alarmist’ think that climate, without human intervention, has a fixed, natural, benign state.
Why should food prices be fixed? They’re all over the place, depending on where you shop and the season of the year, as well as other factors.
The problem is, most people seem fixed in their habits and are unable to change or adapt. This is why ‘climate alarmism’ grabs the attention of so many people. They want to stay as they are, fixed in their habits, and imagine they can stop the climate changing by reducing CO2 emissions.
This is analagous to the current change in average food prices in NZ. Just as there is no average global temperature that everyone lives in, there is no avarge food price that applies to everyone.
If you are wealthy, then a doubling of the price of a particular food that you like, might not be an issue. If the price rise of a particular food is an issue because you are not wealthy, then choose another food.
I don’t live in new Zealand, but in Australia I find that many products in the supermarkets often have a ‘reduced price’ label. This varies from 10% reduction to ‘half price’. I like Camembert cheese, which is currently around $13 for 250 gms, full price. I’d never pay that, because I’m not wealthy. I wait until it’s half price, or at least 30% off. I look at the ‘use-by’ date, and if it’s a few weeks ahead, I might buy 2 or 3 packets at half-price.
Most of us are frugal. This frugality is more expensive this year compared to last year.
Then solve the problem by becoming even more frugal. You’ve probably read that there is a huge amount food wasted, world-wide, amounting to billions of dollars each year. This is partly due to people being too greedy, buying more food than they need, discarding food immediately it has passed its ‘best by’ date, and farmers discarding food that doesn’t meet the cosmetic standards that customers apply when shopping. Bananas are an example.
I’ll repeat. Adaption is the solution, unless you have control over the causes.
As a dairy product loving Kiwi I can assure you that dairy products have increased by a huge amount regardlses of which retail outlet is used. Much of this increased cost is due to a raft of new and unnecessary bureaucratic regulations, with methane taxes just the latest excuse for the socialists to shut down this important industry.
You probably didn’t vote for the socialist Labour twits, but if your fellow Kiwis keep voting for national suicide, you can be sure that’s what you’ll get.
Well, don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for Jacinda Ardern despite her public image being polished by the MSM who were bribed with taxpayers’ funds. Thank goodness she resigned – but watch out for her reappearance at the UN!
Is Chippy any improvement really?
2015-16 previous National government signed Paris climate treaty and their leader John Key told the world NZ will reduce CO2 output ( or pay) by 30% by 2030. Same went for Kyoto Treaty in Dec 1997
2019 National party voted unanimously for Labour -Greens Net Zero laws which bring this all into action.
Point being what exactly? That the globalist uniparty needs competition?
Some NZ voters dont realise that their conservative party is just as climate centered, Its only bad when the other side does the same things.
Does this increase in the price of dairy products apply to imported dairy products from Australia. I did a search on the internet and found the following site, which sates:
“Most goods imported into New Zealand have no import tariffs.”
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/business/trade-and-tariffs/tariffs-in-new-zealand/
The dairy prices are related to export prices, as most of the countrys dairy exports are sent overseas – largest customer is China
Export prices rise , which they have , so do domestic prices . Its supposed to work in reverse but since theres a near monopoly by 2 large domestic supplier they dont
Farmers have had taxpayers paying their CO2 charges for last 20 years , they want that to continue
CO2 “charges” are needless Eco-Nazi stupidity. NOBODY should be paying them.
They why have the two main parties signed onto all the climate treatys from Kyoto onwards.
You seem to believe in unicorns riding on wishful dreams clouds.
You are talking crap again as per usual Duker .
Do you actually know anything ?
If you are so smart tell the readers here WHY New Zealand farmers should pay for greenhouse gas emissions on exported food .
WE have produced the food but we as farmers have no way of getting overseas buyers to pay a dollar extra because our government it extracting levies?taxes from us to put into their coffers .
It is just another cost when we are exporting that all other countries farmers do not have .
If the importing countries need the food they should pay for the emissions .
New Zealand dairy and meat exports have the lowest emissions profile of every country in the world so importers could afford to pay a little more as it would cost them less in methane and CO2 taxes if the UN had a little common sense .
Duker you have not got a clue about economics or trade .
There are many small suppliers of dairy products to the New Zealand retail market but no one is going to sell at a discount to the local market below the net return of export prices .
Farmers have paid exactly the same carbon taxes as everyone else .
“The dairy prices are related to export prices, as most of the countrys dairy exports are sent overseas – largest customer is China”
Whadda they do with the rest? – export it domestically?
It is rather chilling to notice that there are people (ie, like Duker), who actually support this insanity.
If you think that one of the world’s smallest greenhouse gas producers should be first cab off the rank in following nonsensical ‘market theory’ solutions which will never work in this case, you have been very well indoctrinated.
I dont support it . But its insanity to think it will go away because …. votes.
My understanding has been that cows eat grass which is already carbon neutral ( or even negative) as the carbon in grass comes from the air.
Wow Duker you are learning ,this is good news.
I have been posting here on WUWT for at least 10 years but I changed my pen name from Gwan to Graham because some thought I was a Gwen .
I have been straight up why enteric methane from farmed livestock is a closed cycle .
I have had a few like griff and simon try and say that the warming potential of methane is a lot stronger than CO2 but as it is constantly breaking down into CO2 and water vapour where is the problem ?
Stay around awhile and you will learn a lot more .
Consumers pay every tax. Always. Deluded socialists will never grasp that fact.
Do your neighbours send their tax bill to you to pay ? ( but its hidden from you by the government just pushing up your taxes)
You are deluded if you dont think thats whats happening for the NZ farmers
Does this increase in the price of dairy products apply to imported dairy products from Australia? I did a search on the internet and found the following site, which sates:
“Most goods imported into New Zealand have no import tariffs.”
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/business/trade-and-tariffs/tariffs-in-new-zealand/
Thanks to the pandemic we learned a lot about Australia. It’s going down woke road tout suite
So true: but, be fair, it is NOT following a lonely path!
They are far from alone.
Double digit inflation is a big deal for most people.
You need reeducating,
I can’t speak for New Zealand but did you know that “64% of US consumers — equivalent to 166 million people — were living paycheck-to-paycheck at the end of 2022, according to the survey by industry publication Pymnts.com and LendingClub Corp.”
“That’s an increase of 3 percentage points from a year earlier, or 9.3 million Americans. And out of that group, some 8 million were people earning more than $100,000 a year. More than half of that income cohort said they lived paycheck-to-paycheck in December, up 9 percentage points from a year.”
Even on $100k plus, more Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck | Business | dailyitem.com
You forgot the electric bills, gas bills, gasoline costs, car insurance, home insurance, higher mortgage rates that apply to some people and other cost increases in excess of wage gains. We have been retired for 18 years, and 22 years, respectively, so have not had any wages in a long time.:
I just got back home from grocery shopping with the wife. We went armed with lists of sale items. We saved $37 off the regular prices total of $181.72 without any coupons We have saved $143.71 so far this year.
This is for two old people for one week. At a close by store that is at least 20% cheaper than the well known Kroger stores. Aldi is far away from us and I’m not thrilled with their selection and quality. We shop at a nearby Trader Joe’s once a week for some specialty items — owned by the same people as Aldi and fairly priced.
“Anyone who shops in supermarkets should know that the price of food varies considerably, depending on the season and the particular shop you are in..”
It’s a year-to-year comparison. Same season.
It’s a year-to-year comparison of the average price of all food products combined. Individual products, will vary just as seasons vary. For example, due to the current unusually wet season in Australia, mangoes are now quite cheap, because they thrive in warm, wet climates.
Yeah, let’s reeducate them to eat cake eh Vince?
Vince really wants us all to eat Bugs and Insects.
If you kiwis would just eat crickets insteada playing it, things would be grand.
Congrats on winning the super elitist snob comment of the year, you wouldn’t perchsnce be related to Justin Trudeau?
As yes – the socialist “re-educating” as in North Korea “re-education camps”. Right?
Needs re-education… just like Pol Pot did in the Killing Fields.
So Vincent?
If I can’t find cheap bread to buy are you suggesting I should consider cake?
No. I’m suggesting you use your nous and bake your own bread. In Australia, you can buy wholemeal flour at Woolies, which is so cheap you can bake a loaf of nutritional bread for less than half the price of the same weight of bread which is for sale on the shelves.
I don,t know what country you are from Vincent but I think you maybe the one that needs re-educating .
Looking at the massive number of down votes I would be correct in saying that the majority of the readers here think alike .
The majority of people are often wrong on many issues, especially AGW. The majority of people who are rightfully skeptical about AGW, can be wrong on other issues.
The gas wasted and wear and tear on your vehicle will consume any “shopping around” savings you might achieve by perusing prices at multiple stores.
If that’s your situation, then try shopping on the internet. In my situation, the shopping centres I visit have numerous, competing stores, such as Aldi, Woolworths, Coles, and many other smaller vegetable shops.
When I search the internet for any food product, I find a huge range of prices that far exceed a mere 11.3% difference. Some sites offer free delivery if you spend more than a certain amount.
I could give you many examples of food products that I found were too expensive in the Supermarkets, or not even available, but were much cheaper on the internet. Use your nous.
Wonderful. Thanks Vincent.
Now, what about those of us who already shop around and buy the cheapest we can? That turns out be about 20% more than it previously was.
Still sounds like inflation to me.
We just need a solution for that too, thanks Vince.
Inflation is a natural and ongoing process. How much do you think a US dollar in 1920 is worth today?
Of course, if inflation exceeds wage rises, during a specified period, then the average person will be poorer, unless they have the nous to change their lifestyle. This is an issue which the politicians and the people who vote for them have to deal with.
If the majority of the people are willing to sacrifice their prosperity in the interest of tackling climate change, then that’s their choice. It’s called ‘Democracy’.
“When Blueberrie (sic) are in season, they are much cheaper, and the same applies to many food products.”
Incredible. Cheaper than what? – Nothing, zero, the cost of local fresh blueberries does not exist because — they don’t exist outside of the berry season – summer.
What are you talking about?? You’re not making any sense. It’s like you’ve never heard of ‘exports and imports’. Crops do not always ripen at the same time. When it’s winter in Australia and New Zealand, it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Didn’t you know that?
Nobody who has struggled to support their family would ever say something like “If anyone is having trouble paying for food necessities, then shop around for cheaper products or different product that are in season and cheaper.”
I don’t like using the term “privileged” or “check your privilege”, but: check your privilege.
NZ farmers deserve to be made aware..
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/04/11/methane-the-irrelevant-greenhouse-gas/
I would guess that many of the farmers are aware, the problem is that the politicians ignore the facts.
Politicians have the means to impose their will on the populace. See Holland and shooting at protesting farmers….
NZ government commissioned a climate change report a few years back. The report doesn’t make a big deal of it but it does give an indication of how much NZ methane emissions contribute to warming – something in the order of 0.00001C/year.
So they do know that methane emissions are insignificant. This means that our politicians aren’t wrecking farming because they think it will improve the climate.
Correct. It’s justice for Aotearoa. After the sheep and the cows, it’ll be out with the Pakeha, don’t you think?
If Graham who posts here regularly is representative of the farmers in NZ, they are very aware of both the situation in regard to cattle and methane and the ignorance and stupidity of politicians.
You mean the “technical-illiteracy” of politicians, seemingly everywhere?
It isn’t just technical illiteracy. Albo was confronted with the disaster that’s happening in the Northern Territory (not just at Alice Springs), so he had to ‘do something’. So he had a much publicised press conference in Alice Springs (total time there, 3 hours), then went to watch the cricket for 3 days.
not true . Australia day commemorations around the country, Jan 26th .
Alice Springs 24th Jan
Doesnt have any power over Northern territory governments decisions
Should he have stayed the night ?
Exactly.
Surely if the logic of biomass fuels being carbon neutral is accepted (eg Drax power station (UK) and wood pellets), livestock must be considered as part of a carbon cycle.
It is good to know that some one reads what I write .
I am a long time member of New Zealand Federated Farmers and I am sure that the message is getting through to farmers here that enteric methane is not a problem and they are very keen to use a split gas approach for agricultural emissions .
A former Labour Prime Minister Helen Clarke went to the Kyoto accord meeting in the belief that New Zealand has very low emissions .
She was blind sided when activists introduced enteric methane which is the irrelevant gas simply because all the fodder eaten by farmed animals has absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere .
The methane emitted during digestion breaks down in the upper atmosphere into CO2 and water vapour within 10 years .
The whole process is a closed cycle and not one atom of carbon or molecule containing carbon CO2 or CH4 is added to the atmosphere .
Why did climate scientists not stand up and tell the truth at and after the Kyoto Accord?
Politicians with close minds don’t want to see this simple fact and take this argument to the COP yearly parties .
Enteric methane is entirely different from methane released from coal mining ,oil and gas drilling and distribution via pipelines and shipping tankers .
Our green infested government are hell bent on restricting our farming,reducing food production with drastic regulations and allowing overseas investors to buy up good farmland and plant in pines for carbon farming .
This all ads up to less food for the world which is direct contrary to the Paris Agreement ( which Duker the duffer likes to quote )
Artical 2 b
Countries should increase the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster resilience and low green house gas emissions in
A MANNER THAT DOES NOT THREATEN FOOD PRODUCTION .
Every action that this government is taking threatens food production.
Paris is very vague on food reduction. And I dont think dairy carbon tax counts as a reduction ( more like carbon offsets)
Its like a car , have a low carbon electric and save or a high carbon petrol and pay. The choice is yours
Duker that is a direct Quote from the Paris Agreement on Climate change .
Cant you read?
You don’t think.You sure got that right .
The government and Federated Farmers are predicting a drop of over 10% for dairy production and 20% for sheep and cattle production .
IS that is not restricting food production?
Right up there with a tax on windows.
Have you ever noticed women aren’t big fans of milk? Even when they do consume it grudgingly it has to be bastardised so much so as not to be anything resembling the real stuff? Men totally bewildered standing in front of the ‘milk’ fridge at the super trying to work out what type of modified water their womenfolk want this week.
Could we have a tax on Gates instead?
Will starvation and a crashing economy cause the voters of New Zealand to wake up and elect competent politicians? Or will they just keep electing the same fools?
To ask the question is to provide the answer (sigh)!
Both the main parties have fairly similar policies on climate change Tom. Even the conservative ACT party accept it is real they would just do less.
Cant do ‘less’ . They just want taxpayers to continue to pay for farmers CO2 like has been happening on national scale until now. ( gross farm emissions are estimated)
This is a means of working each farmers ‘allocation’ and charging accordingly , like which happens for user car or truck when the fill up
You are are all bull Duker.
What emissions of CO2 from farming do NZ taxpayers pay for ?
IF YOU READ MY POST ABOVE ABOUT METHANE YOU WILL SEE THAT METHANE IS IRRELEVANT.
All carbon taxes on farming will do is to make food dearer in the supermarket When farmers cannot make a return on their on the food that they produce because of stupid government regulations , levies and taxes they cut back production till the prices increase to cover the extra costs imposed by idiots. Don,t you know Duker that there is a drastic shortage of CO2 in New Zealand at the moment .
Get this through your head .New Zealand produces food to feed 40 million people .
If government policies cause less food to be exported the government is to blame .We could quite easily see a 12% cut in food production which would mean 5 million people would go hungry some where around the world.
Will they take any blame? No they will just plead ignorance ,try telling that to starving people .
Kyoto set reducing carbon quantities for all that signed . Any rises are paid for , NZ introduced carbon taxes on fuel , power etc or the big companies buy their own carbon credits. As each farmer currently doesnt pay for its cow emissions the government does as it collects the carbon taxes to buy the overseas carbon credits. Since the farming sector gives off 50% of the countrys total CO2 its right there in the numbers
You are the typical uninformed voter who ignores that the conservative party signs all the climate treaties and votes for them in parliament without being aware you are being hoodwinked and paying for farmers carbon taxes instead ( even the new scheme doesnt cover all their CO2)
Duker .You know full well that enteric methane is not a problem and will never be a problem .
It is well past the time that politicians on both sides of parliament came to their senses and told the UN where to stuff their methane .
As long as there are inhabitants on this earth enteric methane will never cause any heating of the atmosphere .
Methane from other sources might but that is very unlikely as water vapour has saturated the narrow bandwidths that applies to methane .
Just tell me what carbon tax do you pay and where does that money end up .Carbon credits are a ponzi scheme designed to make money for investors .
Is this a trick question?
Same answer if you swap out New York or New Jersey for New Zealand.
“Socialists always find a way to kill agricultural production. “
Or as I would put it, Socialists always find a way to make everybody equally miserable.
“It’s estimated that 60,000 classic American cars ride on Cuban streets. Many of them are 60 or even 70 years old.”
https://www.tourepublic.com/blog/classic-cars-in-cuba/
I predict a very healthy second-hand ice car market as we cut our wrists in the pursuit of net zero [human impact].
I note Mazda’s US CEO has some sage advice for the doomsters if they’re to make a serious dent in ICE car numbers with their beloved External Combustion Engine cars-
Mazda’s USA CEO Says Longer-Range EVs Aren’t Sustainable (msn.com)
The EV version of the Fiat 500 has a quoted range of 190 miles.
What was once a European peoples’ car now costs £27k plus
Downhill with a following breeze. If manufacturer’s were forced to quote a winter range as well, as not only do lower temperatures affect range, but use of lights, wipers, heater etc. will drastically reduce your EV’s capabilities, even fewer would be sold. Sadly, people only come to realise this after they’ve owned one a while. In all my 50 years or so of driving gasoline cars I have never noticed much of a range difference of a tankful summer to winter, although I’m sure there must be some. Enough to worry about? meh.
I’d give one 80 miles at best, you’ll probably need a reserve to find an available working charge point.
Cold weather EV testing in northern Minnesota in a cold week in December saw EV range reductions in the -40% to -60% range. This is from an auto engineer involved. They are not happy with the EVs they are designing for 2026 model and don’t expect many customers to be happy either. Engineers are usually overoptimistic about new models they are designing. I have 27 years of experience in product development as a witness to the usual over optimism. Not this time with EVs.
They do quote the winter range, using the internationally recognized Southern California standard, since that is where 90% of where Teslas are sold.
And once that “quoted range” is dissected, you’ll be lucky to break 100 miles before the next waste of time to recharge.
EV’s are a joke.
The boss of Kia in the UK recently told the Times newspaper that “A mass market in affordable electric cars will not happen because of the difficulty of producing them on a viable basis.”
He also said Kia had no immediate plans for such a car (Times 23rd Jan 23)
GOOD. We need some car makers to provide products we actually want.
“It’s estimated that 60,000 classic American cars ride on Cuban streets. Many of them are 60 or even 70 years old.”
They rarely have the original powertrains. sometimes diesel engines are installed.
US socialist farmers have the USDA set the price of milk, have the government restrict imports but are free to export to the rest of the word
https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/tbb_0707_47.pdf
This is so bad, it is criminal behaviour of government. Of all the places in the world, NZ represents the most blessed country for freely available, good quality farm land plus a very small domestic population. Those conditions, should and always did provide New Zealanders with cheap, high quality, first class food and let’s not mention wine.
The stupidity of socialist’s brow beating people into a higher and higher anxiety state, in order to justify their lunatic tax fixation, needs to stop.
Thankfully, there is a national election this year when the voting public will be able to boot these modern day communists/Luddites into history.
Despite all the carnage inflicted on us by our Labour government over the last 5 years or so, the election might still be a close-run thing.
Our communist Green party seem to draw a fairly consistent 10% of the vote, getting rid of the most caring leader evah (sarc) seems to have given Labour a wee boost in the polls, and if you believe our latest polls the racist Maori party would pretty much get to decide who runs the show.
MSM are notoriously left-wing here in NZ, so it’s not like the people get a balanced view of anything from them.
Even if National/Act do get into power they have a massive job ahead of them, and that’s assuming that National are even all that interested in changing the direction we’re headed. They have promised to get rid of some of the really bad stuff, but you know, they’re politicians.
NZ is in a bad way.
Accurate assessment! How can so many voters be blind to the incompetence of the present government? Presumably that’s a consequence of having developed our social services over the years, to the point where many don’t want to see their taxpayer-funded incomes reduce. I see no sign yet that ACT and National will reverse ALL of the labour policies, but live in hope!
the conservative national party voted unanuimously for the Labour-Greens zero Crabon Act.
How could they not when in power their PM signed the country up to the Paris treaty which mandates these changes.
The farmers have been assessed for their CO2 since Kyoto ( also signed by a National government) , except the carbon tax has been paid by taxpayers.
All thats new is the cost will be borne by the farmers instead of taxpayers ( until now)
They love taxpayer subsidies
Since the tax is based on a “problem” that exists only in the Alt-Universe of “climate models,” the tax should just be repealed.
Duker I have been farming for 65 years and on my own account for over 60 years in dairy sheep, cattle and cereal production and also some agricultural contracting in New Zealand.
The only small subsidy from the government that I received was for sheep meat in the late 1970s.
These were SMP payments Supplementary minimum prices .
Pleas tell us where we can get some farm subsidies Duker .?
We are waiting.
The government pays the carbon output as you know you arent taxed
Been that way since Kyoto treaty and the ETS
Agriculture is 50% of NZs emissions. Carbon taxes are already on fuel at the pump, natural gas supply etc and other large emitters have to buy their increased emissions through various means.
So you tell me how 50% of the countrys emissions has been doing up till now. Its been bulk billed by the government thats how. $800 mill plus per year and rising. It pays for buying carbon credits offshore
Now they want to itemise the costs ( some but not all) for each farm. There are rebates too- like the new cars carbon taxes based on CO2 output
More bull Duker,Carbon credits are a complete scam .
I can prove this in a minute .
Who are the largest sellers of carbon credits ?
Answer China and India .
Question who are the largest users of coal in the world ?
Answer China and India .
Question Which countries have increase their coal use by billions of tonnes since 2010 .
Answer China and India
How much has coal usage gone up since 2010 ?
Answer from a steady 4.7 billion tonnes to over 8 billion tonnes .
There is absolutely no way that carbon credits from China or India represent sequestered carbon dioxide .
These countries must have been given them via the UN because both countries are increasing their emissions year on year .
Prove me wrong .
How could anyone not just love dairying when you look at those glorious girls in the head photo!
By the end of this century and business as usual, methane is on track to run up global temperature less than 1/20th of a degree. If anyone claims it’s more than that, they need to show their work.
Like CO2, methane will “contribute” to a rise in temperature only hypothetically.
Plus it breaks down into CO2 and water vapor very quickly, so its fictional “global warming potential is just more alarmist bullshit.
Oh no! Not math again! I’m calling out your elitism. The liberal art majors who can’t deal with math—or reality—that make up the leftist base can’t possibly be expected to show their work. And anyway, it’s their feelings that matter most.
Here’s a nice picture – all my own work from a minor explore I did this morning.
A field near Holbeach Lincolnshire – quite surreal when you first come upon it
Those are sheep, eating red cabbages.
They’ve eaten all the green leaves from the outside, what they’re working on now are the hearts of the things – about the size of a soccer ball
(Do Not Kick – they weigh a ton each and you’ll break your leg if you do)
That field is about 5 acres big and behind the camera is a 20 acres field chock full of similar sized white cabbages.
Also being grazed by sheep because no-one wanted cabbage or, like the 200 acre apple orchard near my house, no-one could be bothered to come pick them.
Folks still want to eat apples but if you visit the nearest Tesco supermarket, any apples you find in there were grown in France.
everything is wrong
And look at those leccy wires drooping down, somebody somewhere is using a lot of juice ain’t they just!!!
;-D
It won’t be windy juice that’s fo’sure, UK is becalmed this morning
“no-one wanted cabbage”
I wonder why? I mean, sauerkraut is ok but…
Any brassica is only good to feed animals
I quite like raw cabbage – what are you implying? 🙂
Nothing personal, just an opinion. You can have my share no problem, in fact please do.
Big fan of cole slaw here. I eat so much of my home made cole slaw that I may turn into a cabbage. A former Polish friend once served a meal with every dish including cabbage, even the dessert. She was a bizarre artist who painted her kitchen black. That was a meal to forget.
You aint tried brussels sprouts and bacon..?
My favorite meal on an aircraft carrier was fried cabbage on the flat top. They used lots of real butter.
But won’t those sheep add to the methane output?
It’s all about the butter. And the cheese. And the ice cream. And the bacon.
EVERYTHING is better with bacon!
They are trying for pink milk. 😊
If I lived nearby, I’d stop and ask.
Perhaps the best cabbages have been harvested and sold.
The not-so-nice ones are being turned into milk and meat.
In the USA, pumpkins are handled in this way, and/or grown for the purpose.
https://www.shepherdsongfarm.com/grass-fed-grass-farming/grass-fed-sheep-goats/
Pumpkins and turnips for the sheep!
They are trying for pink milk.
________________________
Were there beets in that field too?
Australia has the same problem. It isn’t that nobody wants the agricultural produce. It’s that nobody wants to do the hard work of harvesting it. The dole is so high, you can’t get locals off their couches, only backpackers will do the work. And they haven’t come since the Covid panic.
vegans
If one were prone to conspiracy theories one might think there are many wealthy and privileged people in the developed world who don’t want Africans to thrive and build societies as successful as the ones we presently enjoy. One might look at the vast campaigns to reduce access to affordable reliable energy in regions that are bereft of modern amenities as a scheme to bring disease, hunger and early death to people who have not yet enjoyed the fruits of modern technology.
The further attempts to throttle modern agriculture and deliberately push up the price of food and sanitary water systems could be seen as a direct assault on the necessities of healthy life for those least served. If one’s attention was also caught by the odd paradox of a fetish-like infatuation with all things sexual other than hetero, and the building of programs and structures that all share one common thread – the reduction in human fecundity, one might think that, among those who live a comfortable wealthy privileged life, there is a deep desire to depopulate the globe of anyone lower on the ladder who might compete for those same privileges and comforts.
It might be hard not to feed such conspiracy thoughts when one then looks at the permissive and even facilitative approach to behaviors such as addiction and self harm that have become vogue among the woke mob, even when the outcome is an epidemic of early death after miserable life for our most vulnerable.
One must struggle heroically not to fall prey to the evil conspiracy thoughts that bubble up and are then reinforced by government policies and speeches (such as here in Canada) that now envision not just the aged and infirm, but also mentally ill, PTSD affected veterans and even children to seek the services of the medical system for assistance in bringing about early death.
Never mind the blackmail perpetrated by many western governments against their people, the ones they are constitutionally bound to serve, wherein the government denied constitutionally guaranteed rights should one refuse to submit to an experimental, grossly understudied, novel vaccine which has, to date, shown a strikingly discomforting association with a wide array of side effects as well as an unaccounted for major spike in early death among otherwise healthy young people, all while failing to bring the benefits promised in terms of preventing infection and spread of a mostly innocuous virus for those who are healthy and not of advanced age. One might forgive that obvious government failing had they succeeded in their one virtuous goal – the desire to protect the most vulnerable, however the fiasco that our governments call elder care over the last few years puts the lie to that.
Obviously we must struggle to avoid these conspiracist ideas with all our might. No one sane could believe that a cadre of people so fortunate as to gain a high state of health, wealth and power would so conspire as to thwart the same for those less blessed. Surely human dignity, honesty and compassion would force such fortunates to do everything in their power to bring abundant, healthy and comfortable lives to those most in need.
Food riots were once a common feature of older societies. We may be heading down that track again,
NZ farmers should unanimously refuse to pay all taxes, and/or lie about their livestock, or kill and sell them. Who will dare to enforce the government follies… the bureaucrats? The police? The army? They all have to eat.
If farmers go on strike, the government would soon change. With the wicked witch of the East, gone, will the new PM continue this idiocy of government overreach?
It’s time for someone to wake up in NZ.
Thanks for that good advice. But, as always, most of us are waiting for the first uprising before picking up our own pitchforks! That will assuredly come after the next General Election if the MSM enable the current losers to win!
Thats easy . The farmers sell the cattle for abattoirs and dairy cows the milk for daily collection to a production company ( the coop the dairy farmers own has 85% of the market)
Its just charged to their account… Have you not heard of follow the money ?
What you dont realise was the previous conservative PM signed up to the Paris treaty , told the world the country was committed to 30% reduction by 2030 and even after he left his party voted unanimously for the Zero Carbon Act to make it law.
What say you now ‘woke man
There are lots of country people wide awake .The problem is the cities and large towns ..
Every problem is blamed on CO2 and towns people tend to believe what they are told by the news media.
New Zealand farmers are law abiding and their exports of food to the world keep the country operating. Without exports there can be no imports .
Farmers have been involved in demonstrations through Ground Swell to try and change the minds of politicians and the public.
The government has to be changed and a lot of the politicians now in opposition have to grow some back bone ,otherwise New Zealand will keep sliding down the slippery slope .
Politicians have to put New Zealand’s issues ahead of trying to appease the UN,s climate catastrophe fantasy.
As I wrote in a post above the UN has stated that no country should take action against climate change that effects food production .
This green infected government are doing exactly that .Their actions are already affecting food production with farms being sold for carbon farming .It is also impossible to start up a new dairy farm on land that is currently farming cattle and sheep .Towns and cities are expanding onto farmland but this does not allow anyone to use a similar area for dairy farming .
Unicorns are just dreams like what you suggest. I dont agree with it , but its not going to change
The carbon farming is just replacing mostly unsuitable land ( landslip prone) for sheep farming by trees For goodness sake , sheep farming is marginally profitable is why they are selling . Some smaller parts of those farms are better stock grazing land and will continue , but the whole farm stock units reduced of course. Maybe leased out
Once large parts of flat but dry land was sheep grazing too, replaced by dairy farms when irrigation was used. Other became vineyards or horticulture where its wetter and right soil
this idea that farmland is in perpetuity with the same use is bizarre
Bullshist again Duker.
Have you ever heard of Mangaohane Station?
This 4800 hectare iconic sheep station is on the Taupo to Napier highway and is up for tender to the highest bidder .
According to information that is freely available ,carbon farmers can earn returns far greater than farming sheep and cattle .
Pine trees that will never be harvested after establishment will sequester 8 to 24 tones of carbon per year per hectare .
At the present New Zealand price that will earn the investors $520 to $1560 worth of credits per year .
No investor from overseas is going to rent out some of the easy contour land at $150 to $250 per hectare to neighboring farmers .
Reasonably good contoured farms on good soils are grossing around $1,000 per hectare running sheep and cattle with most farms having a return after farm running costs of $450 to $500 per hectare before financing charges and the farmers income living expenses.
Carbon credits are a scam as China and India are the largest sellers and are also the by far the major users of coal in the world .
These left-wing governments are amateurs. Stalin managed to kill around 5m with his Socialist famines. They have a long way to go yet.
But I can see that they are trying….
He did 5 mil before lunch
There were lots of enemies.
Stalin killed more than 5 million just with bullets and gulags. The real death toll was in the mass starvation, something like 50 million.
US internal migration into Indian territories killed large numbers when they were forced from land
WW1 probably resulted in millions deaths ( Imperialism) and could be 500,000 germans died of starvation from food/fertiliser blockade ( and taking farm workers into military)
US invasion of Iraq resulted in 250,000 deaths
Here in Canada they ran a story on narrative control, CBC, about how inflation decreased from 7 to 6% while showing video of poor people shopping, yay good news. That wonderful Trudeau fixes all.
Except food prices had gone up and you had to pay close attention to hear that the drop was entirely due to gasoline price decreases.
Narrative control or
Lying liars that lie.
Same thing.
Why pick on the cows? What about the superheated CO2 emitted in abundance by NZ politicians?
Agriculture in NZ is responsible for 50% of the countrys C02 emissions (11% in US)
Once you have gone down that path( wrongly in my view) it cant be ignored. Unfortunately for them the local power generation was already 80% renewable and the liquid fuels and natural gas pay carbon taxes already.
Its the elephant in the room, and getting other taxpayers to cover the farmers through the government wont work much longer. Its been done that way under Kyoto
Absolute Bullish! Duker ,
Can’t you read and understand plain English ?.
Do I have to write in one syllable words so that you can understand ?.
Enteric methane from farmed livestock can never warm the world or change the climate .
Why should any country pay for emissions on something that is never going to be a problem .
This stupidity shows what a sham this whole emissions trading scheme is based on .
All these so called intelligent people who attended the Kyoto Accord and then the Paris Agreement trying to save the world from enteric methane when it can never and will never cause warming.
All methane emitted from farmed livestock is from the digestion of fodder by microbes in the animals stomachs, that brreak down cellulose that no animal or human can digest without these microbes .
The microbes multiply very rapidly feeding on the cellulose in the animals digestive system and are absorbed as food.
Not one atom of additional carbon or additional molecules containing carbon ,CO2 and CH4 are emitted to the atmosphere over any ten year period .
This is because all fodder that the animals consume has absorbed C02 and the methane emitted breaks down within 10 years in the upper atmosphere into CO2 and water vapour .
All these politicians and so called scientists if they had even a little scientific knowledge could see that enteric methane can never be a problem ,but this is what happens when science turns into religion .People don’t want to know the truth when they fear for their future .
Agricultural ruminant numbers tend to be quite stable over time. The carrying capacity is limited by the available feed and water. There might be changes between sheep and cattle, but for every change of 1 head of cattle there will be an opposite change of 10 sheep.
Higher productivity from the cows by changed farming practices – especially dairying, feed supplements and an irrigation boom have led to a big jump in dairying number and milk production
The smallest CO2 producers sheep are declining
Wot I sed, innit?
Neither cattle or sheep produce CO2 .
THEY EAT GRASS AND OTHER FODDER THAT HAS ABSORBED C02.
The stupid activists jumped on the fact that during digestion a small amount of methane is released by microbes in the animals digestive system .
The methane is what these idiots have lobbied other idiots to tax .
Enteric methane breaks down in the upper atmosphere within 10 years into
CO2 AND WATER VAPOUR.
Nothing is added to the atmosphere .
This is a non problem thought up to disrupt food production .
There is no other explanation why so many people could be so blind and ignorant .
“Socialists always find a way to kill agricultural production.”
True! In both Russia and China, when they went commy- they ruined their farmers and almost starved their nations.
Meanwhile, in Canada, this is how milk and dairy product prices are kept high.
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/ontario-dairy-farmer-decries-mandatory-milk-dumping
Destroying food to maintain profits for farmers feels like a moral crime, and in a sane society, it would be illegal. So would making ethanol motor fuel from corn.
I still don’t get the methane problem. Atmospheric concentration is 1.8 parts per million. Or 0.00018 percent. That’s a crisis?
“the digestive processes of the livestock — basically, their burps — emit a powerful greenhouse gas called methane,”
Was that article written for third graders? Even Americans would be embarrassed to have that rubbish spewed at them.
You are incorrect. Its a simple explanation thats completely true
Whats missed out is the ‘detail’ that cows eat grass ( in NZ) and the grass carbon comes from natural sources. Its not fossil emissions
No what’s really missing is that changes in CO2 and methane have never been empirically shown to drive the Earth’s temperature. Whether it is “fossil fuels” as the “source” or not.
The “climate” bullshit is about power and money. Nothing more.
“… like people’s ability to buy enough food to feed themselves.”
Move to California. Shoplifting (stealing) less than $900 worth of items might get you arrested, but the District Attorney will refuse to prosecute. The land of milk, honey and nuts.
I always heard it as “fruits, nuts, and flakes”
G’Day Tony G,
“fruits, nuts, and flakes”
That’s the modern version all right.
Does New Zealand have printing presses that inflate their economy? It’s pretty hard to imagine that the price of grass to feed sheep has increased 11% on an Island so much in one year.
The price of most food in New Zealand is set by the net export price.
85% of our food is is exported to many countries around the world .
For instance if a prime steer is worth $2000 at the export meat processors that is the price the domestic market pays.
Fonterra holds a world wide auction every 2 weeks right through the year to establish prices and demand .
Cheese butter and milk prices in the supermarket produced by other dairy companies are lower than Fonterra products in most supermarkets .
Visiting NZ in 1970s I could get 2 full bottles of milk by returning 3 empties.
They tax what they want less of. We know the hard left greens want fewer people, so they heavily tax the things that keep people alive.