Friday, March 29, 2024

Accord improves water quality

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The country’s dairy farmers have made significant achievements in water quality over five years of the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord, DairyNZ says.
HWEN partners have concerns at the paring back of the classes of vegetation that would be recognised as carbon-sequestering.
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Over 98% of eligible waterways have been fenced to exclude cattle, a total of more than 24,000km of measured waterways.

Almost all, 99.8%, of 36,000 regular livestock crossing points on dairy farms now have bridges or culverts.

Some 94% of the Accord’s 11,079 dairy farms, or 10,396 farms, had nutrient budgets in the 2017-18 season and just over half of farms with waterways have riparian management plans.

DairyNZ said research shows stock exclusion from riparian margins and wetlands results in significant reductions in contaminant loss, including nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and E coli.

Livestock exclusion on Southland dairy farms has been linked to a 20% reduction in E coli and a 40% reduction in phosphorus loss.

In Taranaki extensive riparian planting behind fencing has contributed to significant water quality improvements at 27 of 59 river sites monitored by the Taranaki Regional Council.

No sites have had significant declines in water quality.

DairyNZ, speaking on behalf of the six participating dairy companies, said more work is needed on effluent management with 6% of 12,295 farms monitored by regional councils significantly non-compliant in 2017-18.

The Accord has run its allotted five years and the participants will now carry on with Dairy Tomorrow and a more comprehensive framework for monitoring progress on water quality.

Farmers will be helped to find and use individual efforts for water quality outcomes rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

An ongoing goal under the Accord was that 85% of dairy farms would have water meters by 2020 (54% in 2017-18).

Another was that all farms requiring a riparian management plan will have completed half of their riparian plan commitments by 2020.

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