Living in the Bay of Plenty he has strong ties to Te Arawa and Tuwharetoa, both tribes with significant dairy holdings through the central North Island.
With Maori land now generating almost 10% of total milksolids (MS) production in New Zealand it’s high time those interests had a voice on the industry good body, he said.
Walters also wants to see DairyNZ adopt more of the holistic values and approaches iwi ownership entails. That involves greater respect and attention to alternative farming systems including organic and biological systems which he maintains are often sidelined for conventional approaches in DairyNZ system assessments.
“They are often dismissed on the grounds these systems lack science to prove the claims they make,” he said.
“I maintain that if there is not enough science there, then we should be applying the science through DairyNZ resources, to prove they do work and are a viable alternative for dairy farmers seeking different methods to farm than the usual chemical-based system.”
Such an approach would not only validate claims made by the alternative approaches but would also put them on more of an equal footing with conventional chemical systems so often at the centre of any trials and research done.
Walters is in a position to pull in science as needed, given his position as the founding director of the Rotorua-based Maori Research Institute.
He’s enjoyed a prolific sporting career both on the rugby field and on the water. He has represented NZ, the United States and Australia in sailing, culminating in the 1984 NZ America’s Cup challenge as grinder and crew boss.
In existence for only 21 months, the institute’s initiatives include helping Maori landowners develop sustainable farm and forestry systems and make greater use of idle iwi land. A key focus in the past year for Walters has been to explore options for using iwi land for dairy goat farming using biological farming systems.
His frustration with adherence to conventional practices compelled him to seek a voice on DairyNZ’s board and he maintains it is as much in the name of dairying as a whole as it is iwi interests.
“We have developed this reliance upon imported feedstuffs, particularly palm kernel, and I feel we are very close to having a biosecurity crisis due to its importation,” he said.
“It is essential we develop more land that can grow crops for feeding our livestock on here in NZ, without that sort of reliance.”
His Tuwharetoa iwi has about 150,000ha of land in the central North Island that has the potential for cropping and dairy goat farming. But, despite the potential dairy goats offer, Walters said there was a distinct need to have more land growing crops suitable to feed goats in the usual “cut and carry” systems.
“Plenty of people will have the 20ha needed for a goat farm but don’t realise how much more land is required to feed those goats on in this sort of system.”
He would like to see dairy goat research come under the DairyNZ umbrella, with the benefits of developing more forage land and crops credited across the whole dairy sector as a result.
A project Walters is overseeing involves developing 20ha of rough country off the Napier-Taupo road to grow lucerne as a forage crop for goats.
“We want to see how much potential this country would have for such a crop and if it does, there is plenty of area we can use to grow more.”
He would also like to see more focus from DairyNZ on health benefits and challenges dairy products bring to New Zealanders.
“You get tired of hearing Maoridom talk about China,” he said.
“We forget about the people here at home and the health challenges like diabetes they face.”
Walters’ motivation to bid for the DairyNZ board has also picked up in the past two months as he has witnessed a parade of errors and omissions by those dealing with dairy exports, including the Fonterra botulism scare.
“This concentration on a chemical base for farming is not working,” he said.
“We need to get back to more research at grass roots. Let’s do the science just as the conventional systems have used science with DairyNZ.”
