High-precision micrometeorological measurement with tunable diode laser (TDL)-based trace gas analysers provides a continuous spatially integrating and non-intrusive measurement technique that is capable of detecting and quantifying episodic N2O emission at the paddock scale. Results are presented from the FarmGas2006 measurement campaign conducted on a commercial dairy farm in North Canterbury, New Zealand, over 3 weeks in October 2006. This was the first field deployment of a TDL instrument for paddock-based N2O flux measurement in New Zealand. A goal of this campaign was assessment of a range of atmospheric N2O sensing technologies and micrometeorological approaches. In this paper the capabilities of TDL technology are compared with gas chromatography (GC) in flux-gradient measurements. Baseline emission was <100 ng N/m2.s and increased to <250 ng N/m2.s following grazing by the dairy herd. There was very good correlation between GC- and TDL-determined fluxes and also good agreement between the instruments in the mean emission in 10 days before (45–50 ng N/m2.s) and after (75–80 ng N/m2.s) paddock grazing. The flux was characterised by events of high emission lasting several hours such that half of the total N2O was emitted in ~10% of the time over the duration of the campaign. We discuss the implications of this and advantages of high-precision techniques as tools for ‘top-down’ verification and for the assessment of N2O emission mitigation options.