Fonterra and Swiss food giant Nestle have formed a partnership to develop New Zealand’s first zero carbon emissions dairy farm.

In what the parties said was a New Zealand first, the project, to be run with co-partner Dairy Trust Taranaki, will examine all aspects of farm operations to reduce carbon with the aim of cutting emissions by 30 per cent by mid-2027, with a 10-year ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions.

The demonstration farm at the centre of the project is a 290-hectare property surrounding Fonterra’s Whareroa site.

Dairy Trust Taranaki will work with Fonterra and industry partners to reduce total emissions on the farm, including methane.

Lessons learned and activities will be shared through open days with farmers, who can then adopt the techniques and technologies most appropriate for their own farms.

The practices must be economically viable and practical for available to all farmers to adopt, the parties said.

Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell said the collaboration will help both Fonterra and Nestle accelerate progress towards their greenhouse gas emission goals.

“New Zealand already provides some of the most sustainable nutrition in the world through its pasture-based dairy system,” he said in a statement.

“This new partnership will look at ways to further reduce emissions, increasing the country’s low-emissions advantage over the rest of the world.”

“Part of our strategy is to lead in sustainability and we aspire to be net zero by 2050,” he said.

“We know we will make bigger gains, for both the vo-op and country, by partnering with others.”

“Nestle has ambitious plans and we look forward to working together to discover systems that could help our farmer owners to continue to build on the already good base they have,” he said.

Nestle New Zealand CEO Jennifer Chappell said the Taranaki farm would build on Nestle’s work around the world to help transform the dairy industry.

“Dairy is our single biggest ingredient, and our vision is that the future for dairy can be net zero,” Chappell said.

Nestle has over 100 pilot projects with partners around the world, including in New Zealand, and 20 farms already striving towards the ambition of net zero emissions, Chappell said.

The partnership between Fonterra and Nestle also encompasses the launch of a greenhouse gas farmer support pilot programme.

This project will see enrolled Fonterra supplying farms get additional support to implement changes aimed at lowering their on-farm emissions, which could include solutions such as improved management of feed and pasture and enhanced milk production efficiency.

The opt-in pilot will start with around 50 farms and then be scaled up over the next three years.