Care you can trust, and taste.

At Silver Fern Farms, doing right by people, animals and the environment is part of who we are – it’s in our nature. That is why we are proud to introduce New Zealand’s first certified* Grass-Fed, end-to-end Net Carbon Zero Beef. 

You can trust that 100% of end-to-end Greenhouse Gas emissions are measured and then balanced out by verified woody vegetation that is actively absorbing the equivalent amount of CO². This vegetation only occurs on farms that supply us with 100% Angus beef cattle.

*Toitū Envirocare certified
 



Reimagining our approach

USDA Logo
Toitu Net Carbon Zero Certification Logo

At Silver Fern Farms, we are reimagining our approach to emissions. Recognizing that we can have a wider impact and play a bigger part in positive change. That means doing things the right way, not the easy way.

Learn more about the science behind our 100% Net Carbon Zero By Nature product range.

 



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Discover our full range of beef and Net Carbon Zero beef range
 




Frequently Asked Questions


'Net Carbon Zero' means that the total emissions generated by each kilogram of product, are independently measured and certified, right throughout the whole life of the product.

To achieve and maintain our Net Carbon Zero certification, for every kilogram of product sold, the equivalent amount of emissions needs to be removed by vegetation occurring on the farms that supply the product. We are also required to actively work across our supply chain to reduce emissions over time.

The total emissions generated by each pound/kilogram of product were independently measured and certified across the whole life of the product, from farm to the consumers plate in the USA, including disposal of the packaging.

Yes, and our measurements are undertaken and verified by an independent party. They cover the whole life and care of our products end-to-end including from farm, processing, shipping, right to the consumers home, including disposal of packaging.

  • More than 95 percent of emissions from our Net Carbon Zero beef occur on farm. The transport and packaging are therefore very minor contributors to the overall carbon footprint but are still fully accounted for and offset via removals on the farms the animals were raised.
  • At Silver Fern Farms we are lucky to be 100% made of New Zealand and our unique environment. We strongly believe that cattle on pasture especially those 100% Grass-Fed, lead happier, healthier, and more natural lives, and produce a higher quality and much more sustainable product.

Toitū Envirocare is New Zealand’s internationally recognized environmental certification organisation. It is wholly owned subsidiary of a New Zealand Government Crown Research Institute. Toitū provide independent certification and verification of our Net Carbon Zero product, our processing emissions and our Environmental Management System.   

We use independently certified and approved methodology to remotely identify the type and age of vegetation occurring on our suppliers’ farms. We then work with our farmers to ground truth the data and finalise how much equivalent CO² is being removed every year by that vegetation.

We then contract and purchase this carbon from farmers to match the emissions from the meat produced within the program. This rewards our farmers for their environmental management practices, incentivises additional planting and highlights the benefit of Grass-Fed beef from New Zealand.

Not at all, Angus Beef is our premium beef program and as with all our products, the animals are raised with a light touch. Our beef has a superior 100% Grass-Fed taste and texture every time.

The Net Carbon Zero Angus Beef range is a premium product underpinned by a commitment that 100% of that premium goes back to rewarding and incentivising farmers for their current and future on-farm carbon sequestration.

No. We will supply Net Carbon Zero Angus beef alongside our other ranges, our intention is to work with an ever-increasing number of our suppliers to reduce emissions over time and provide strong incentives to care for vegetation on their farms that helps to fight climate change.

We believe that by requiring our participating farms to locally match the product’s emissions, rather than purchasing offsets outside of the products boundary (such as investing in a windfarm) we deliver a product that authentically incentivises sustainable practice on farm.

Carbon offsets are a way to compensate for carbon emissions by investing in projects that cancel out the equivalent emissions of CO² from a certain activity. In-setting (or removals) is a type of offsetting, but instead of investing in just any project, in-setting invests in projects that remove the equivalent amount of CO² within a defined boundary of where the activity took place or in our case, only from where the product came from.

Learn more about our commitment to climate change and sustainability here.

Our certification for a net carbon zero product relies on us being able to manage all of our emissions and removals within the lifecycle of the product. We believe that by requiring our participating farms to locally match the product’s own emissions with carbon absorbing vegetation on their own farms. As a result, we then deliver a product that authentically incentivizes sustainable practice on farm now and into the future.

  • Cows produce biogenic methane emissions (mainly by burping) as they turn grass into meat.  In fact, these burps make up 96% of the carbon footprint for 1 lb of beef. Silver Fern Farms’ Net Carbon Zero products account for 100% of end-to-end emissions (including all those burps) and have been independently measured and certified, then offset within the farms where the animals were raised.
  • Toitū Envirocare is New Zealand’s internationally recognized environmental certification organisation. It is wholly owned subsidiary of a New Zealand Government Crown Research Institute. Toitū provide independent certification and verification of our Net Carbon Zero product, our processing emissions, and our Environmental Management System.

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