To help farmers cut emissions and move closer to its on-farm emissions reduction goal, Fonterra has invested in a new mobile effluent pond dosing service
Up to 200 Fonterra farmers in Waikato and Southland will participate in the two-year experiment, which will start in August, to test the service’s efficacy and scalability.
EcoPond, created by Lincoln University and Agnition, Ravensdown’s research and investment division, employs sulfuric acid and polyferric sulphate to stop and minimize methane emissions in wastewater ponds. According to studies, the treatment can cut emissions from a farm’s effluent pond by at least 90 per cent.
The new dosing service employs a vehicle to treat the pond as needed, which lowers deployment costs compared to the prior EcoPond system, which required substantial on-farm infrastructure for installation.
The Sustainability Director at Fonterra New technology, such as EcoPond, is one of the levers the Co-op is using to move closer to its goal of reducing on-farm emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 (from a baseline set in 2018), according to Charlotte Rutherford. According to Jasper Van Halder, CEO of Agnition, the company is concentrated on identifying, cultivating, and funding high-potential initiatives to address pressing issues in the agriculture industry. Effluent ponds typically account for around 5 per cent of the total emissions from a Fonterra farm, which include emissions from peat soil and land use change, less any carbon reductions.
Effluent ponds typically account for around 5 per cent of the total emissions from a Fonterra farm, which include emissions from peat soil and land use change, less any carbon reductions.
In a trial conducted on the Net Zero Pilot Dairy farm, a project under the Co-op’s collaboration with Nestlé, the treatment has demonstrated encouraging outcomes. Methane emissions from treated effluent samples have decreased by around 97 per cent on the farm thanks to the installation of a customized EcoPond system.
The Co-op and newly announced customer incentives, such as on-farm solutions made available through separate partnerships with Mars and Nestlé, are providing funding for the project. Additional details regarding the entire range of on-farm solutions intended to increase emissions efficiency.
