Resources for Environmental Advisors
Tools, insights, and resources to support your conversations.
Welcome, Environmental Advisors
A central place for tools and information to support your expertise, and drive dairy farming success - on farm, every day.
Your go to tools and resources
As an environmental advisor in the dairy sector, your expertise plays a vital role in guiding farmers toward more resilient and sustainable farming practices. To support your work, we provide tools and resources that help you assess, plan, and advise, supporting environmental outcomes.
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Good farming practices for environmental management guide
An industry-agreed foundation for good farming practices across ten key environmental areas. Use it with farmers to support planning, record-keeping, and meeting environmental standards.
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Managing on-farm greenhouse gas emissions
Guide conversations with farmers about emissions reduction options tailored to their farm systems. This webpage outlines actions to reduce methane and nitrous oxide while maintaining productivity.
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Quick guide to reducing your environmental footprint
A summary of nine practical actions to boost farm efficiency and sustainability—ideal for hands-on work with farmers driving change.
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Nutrient management on your dairy farm
Share the farmer’s guide to understanding how nitrogen and phosphorus enter, cycle through and leave your dairy farm.
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Waterway technical notes
Practical freshwater solutions for farmers. This science-based guide covers fencing, planting, and erosion control to support tailored advice and healthier waterways.
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DairyBase
Benchmark farm performance and gain insights into financial and physical data to support strategic decision-making.
Explore hidden gems in DairyNZ’s toolkit
These resources are designed to help you deliver clear, data-driven support that empowers farmers to make informed decisions. Use them to strengthen your impact and support sustainable farm success.
Optimise pasture performance to support sustainable and profitable goals
Are you helping make informed decisions that improve pasture productivity while support environmental outcomes? Use the resources below to guide conversations around emissions, feed efficiency, and business resilience:
- Read how pasture lowers emissions and drives profitability
- Review key considerations for the 5 farm production systems
- Read more on average pasture cover
- Read more on leaf stage and rotation length
- Crunch the numbers for comparative stocking rate
- Read more on operating profit
- Explore 5 business analysis steps
- Discover FeedRight technical notes
Guide effluent decisions for peace of mind
Use these resources to support meaningful conversations with farmers about effluent storage options, regulatory compliance, and environmental outcomes. They’re designed to prompt the right questions and guide planning toward practical, sustainable solutions:
Support impactful conversations on wintering systems
Support farmers to improve their wintering systems with practical guidance and planning tools. Review the farmer guide and learn how to set up for effective, sustainable winter grazing.
Support on-farm decisions that improve water quality
Continue to support farmers with practical, science-backed advice on managing nutrients, reducing nitrogen loss, and protecting waterways, while keeping productivity on track with the resources below:
Stay up to date on policy and advocacy
Stay up to date with DairyNZ’s advocacy efforts and the latest policy developments. This includes key government-led initiatives such as the Freshwater Farm Plans, which aim to support farmers in managing environmental risks, and the Nitrogen Cap. These resources are designed to help rural professionals guide farmers through compliance and sustainable practice.
Discover what's driving better farm systems: explore the latest research
Stay informed with DairyNZ’s research designed to support rural professionals in delivering high-quality, reliable advice alongside farmers. Discover insights into greenhouse gas emissions in pasture-based systems, and the role of plantain in improving animal health and reducing environmental impact. Dive into results that connect emissions reduction with farm profitability. Access the knowledge you need to build more resilient farming systems. The best advice starts with this great research:
See on-farm success in action with these environmental case studies
Leadership in profitability and sustainability
Justin and Melissa Slattery have been on their 100 ha farm at Elstow, between Tahuna and Paeroa for 6 years. Their approach to farming is to be good stewards of the environment through having simple systems that are resource efficient.
A real-life example on how to grow plantain as part of the dairy farm
Using plantain has resulted in a 5% reduction in N-loss for the Passey’s so far, as modelled in Overseer and based on an average of 10% plantain in the pasture sward.
Podcasts
Unlock on-farm environmental insights with these podcasts
If you're looking for insights and perspectives to support your work with farmers, these podcast episodes are a valuable resource. We've curated a selection we think you'll find both relevant and thought-provoking for your role.
Looking for something else?
Explore the links below to return to the Rural Professional Hub, contact your local area manager, explore current research, or sign up for updates on upcoming events, resources, and insights to support your work with farmers.
