The improving trend is in part due to participation of dairy farmers in the various environmental, sustainability and water quality programmes throughout the province.
“The option of not doing anything is no longer there for dairy farmers,” she said.
Formerly the NZ Landcare Trust co-ordinator for Whangarei and then a consulting officer for DairyNZ, Moodie has an agriculture degree from Massey and an excellent resume for her new position.
“It helps a lot to know some of the effects on farming of what dairy farmers are being asked to do.”
She was approached by DairyNZ management and began in the new role in January, one of a number of catchment programme team leaders and support specialists around the country. The job involves supporting dairy farmers in the Northland and Auckland regions as the regional councils look to improve water quality at a catchment level.
Under the title Wairoa Northland Water, the Northland Regional Council (NRC) has formed stakeholder groups for five priority catchments, including dairy farmers.
The Mangere River group is the first of those to get underway, having historically had one of the worst water quality results. Mangere catchment contains 19 dairy farms in the Kokopu district west of Whangarei, along with some of the Western Hills native bush area, and drains into the Wairua River near Poroti, below the Hikurangi Swamp.
Moodie said part of her role was to ensure that whatever comes out of the consultative process was based on sound science and ecology.
“When the Mangere group was formed DairyNZ got its water quality specialist Dr Tom Stephens to review all the data available on the Mangere. We found that nutrients are not the limiting factors in that catchment but sediment load and lack of oxygen are the key issues for eco-system health.”
Moodie said it was apparent that nutrients were not a water quality problem at the current dairy cow stocking rates but controlling sediment sources like riverbank erosion and winter pasture management to avoid pugging were priorities for action.
NRC said that the FDE upgrades over the past six years had already paid dividends in improved water quality and mentioned considerable reductions in ammonia levels. But water quality was still impacted in the catchment and ongoing land management changes were required to continue to improve water quality.
Other aspects of Moodie’s new role included sustainability milk plans, to identify what farmers have already done and have in place and what their options might be. Two consultants are working through those plans for the 19 Mangere dairy farms.
She was also helping select the farmers who participate in the catchment groups.
In addition to Mangere, NRC is in the process of forming groups around the Whangarei Harbour, the Waitangi River, the Doubtless Bay catchment and the Pouto lakes.
It was very important that farmer representatives have the respect of their peers.
“Otherwise, at the end of the consultative process farmers may not be accepting of the commitments entered into.”
