A cornerstone of those targets is a $40 million fund that is awaiting final Cabinet sign-off. Farmers will be able to apply to the fund when they want to make permanent and significant shifts in land use which will reduce nutrient losses.
AgResearch scientist and independent chairman of the Lake Rotorua Stakeholder Advisory Group, Dr Tanira Kingi, told delegates that before the funding provision kicks in farms in the catchment will have to submit farm nutrient plans by December next year.
These will be the first step for farmers making the obligatory hurdle of achieving nitrogen losses of 35kg N/ha/year by 2032 for dairy farms, and 13kg N/ha/year for drystock operations.
“This may not sound a lot, but it is a challenge to achieve in this catchment,” Kingi said.
This process is estimated to remove 140 tonnes of nitrogen a year from the lake system. Present engineering with the Ohau diversion channel has already removed 50t. The council aims to remove a further 30t of nitrogen a year from the system by removing gorse, which generates its own nitrogen. It aims to remove the remaining 100t of nitrogen through land use changes, funded through the $40m fund.
“This will act as an incentives fund for changes in land use, for example from grass to trees, for fully enclosed structures like wintering barns, any change that makes a permanent change to the farm’s system.”
Across the Rotorua region there are 560 pastoral farms, of which 303 are dairying. Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick told delegates that, with proven practices in place, the time was now for innovative and new ideas, many of which would be captured under the umbrella of biological farming.
The proven concepts already in use include the Ohau diversion channel that takes nutrient rich water from Lake Rotorua and bypasses Lake Rotoiti, to divert the flow straight out to sea through the Kaituna River. Alum dosing of the lake has also pulled down phosphorous levels, but cannot be continued long-term because of toxicity risks. Chadwick pointed to significant advances made between stakeholder groups in recent years.
While the fund would play a valuable role in providing options for land use changes, she emphasised it would only support proposals that delivered significant and on-going reductions in nutrient levels.
“It will not be paying out for cost-neutral reductions. Any action it funds has to achieve sustainable, long term reductions, and innovative technology will be rewarded.
“That is why such conferences are significant in bringing the technology together to help achieve that.”
Options presented at the conference included reports on the use of compost in cropping rotations to reduce nitrogen application, bio-carbons, and the role of non-milk goats in sustainable pastoral farming for weed control. She noted that while pastoral farming had a target of 270t of nitrogen to achieve, it should not be held alone in reducing nutrient losses.
“We are all in this together, townies are in it too and need to understand what we contribute with respect to waste water.”
She said there was a strong understanding in the catchment that farming had to remain, while also meeting societal and environmental expectations.
An early option kicked around by the council had been to take dairying out of the catchment altogether, removing 320t of nitrogen a year outright, and meeting the sustainable nitrogen target load on the lakes. However, this had proved unacceptable to the greater community.
Chadwick said the concept of biological farming, with its mix of conventional and organic systems, was a relatively new one that held options for the region.
“It will be interesting to see how you pull all these ideas together in the end. It is so pivotal to us in this region especially.”
