“We don’t exactly know how many cows we could sustain here, but it’s a hell of a lot less than we have currently,” says Greenpeace director Russel Norman.

Milk and Money: The True Cost of Dairy in Aotearoa is a six-part series exploring the dairy industry’s impact on the community, economy and environment of Aotearoa, and considering what a sustainable future for the industry could look like.

In Episode 3: Feed and Fertiliser, we explore the impact of our feed and fertiliser use. 

Many of dairy’s impacts can be traced back to the industry's race to milk as many cows as possible, which has only been possible due to an exponential rise in the use of feed and fertiliser.

With industry experts and farmers, we unpick if this level of feed and fertiliser is necessary, and if there is a different way forward.

Re: Journalist Baz Macdonald speaks to executive director of Greenpeace Aotearoa Russel Norman, CEO of Ballance Agri-Nutrients Mark Wynne and fertiliser consultant Stan Winter.

Watch the whole series here.

Made with the support of NZ on Air.