However, after listening to and reading both ACT’s and National’s opposing opinions. I’m afraid I’m with ACT.

I don’t see how adopting this scheme is going to provide us with any more of a clean green image when the majority of the countries that we trade with don’t have any similar scheme in place. Yes, Europe does, however they aren’t our largest trading partner and the majority of their exports are among European countries that do have the same scheme. For them it makes sense, maybe. But for us, it is utter nonsense.

One visitor to our stand really drove home the fear that many of us have. He was a French man who had recently hosted visitors from France and taken them through some of our Waikato Dairy farms and they were highly impressed with our lucrative dairy industry and the way we farm.

He said that with the pasture feeding and process of our producing milk, there is no way that they can compete because they have much higher inputs and compliance costs. BUT… that will all change when ETS comes in and we may be on more of a level playing field perhaps . . . he said with a grin.

We aren’t leading the way in changing farming for the better of the planet; we are just hitting farmers in the back pocket again along with an extremely important sector that underpins New Zealand economy and making a mockery of ourselves on the way.

If we farm to more organic principles, but aren’t certified organic, however have peat – apparently a carbon sink – shelter belts, healthy prolific top soil, are we to benefit? No, soil that sequesters carbon doesn’t seem to come into it.

So how are farmers going to meet the cost of ETS. More than likely they will have to up stocking rates which seems to be the opposite of what we are trying to achieve.

In one person’s words at Fieldays “It’s just a crock of S*&!”.