Fleur and Ged Lange have a perfectly productive paddock by the dairy and they are going to dig out a hectare of it, plant hundreds of native plants, and turn it into a wetland.
It’s raised a few eyebrows and bemused responses, but the way they see it, this wetland will not only appeal aesthetically and provide a place of solace to escape the grind. It’s also another step along the path to futureproofing their dairy business.
The couple farm 300ha at Kowhitirangi, a fertile dairying valley inland from Hokitika with stands of native bush scattered across the landscape.
They’ve progressively bought three separate dairy farms over the years and by coincidence they’re some of the most bush-clad properties in the valley with stands of kahikitea rearing out of dairy pasture.
That suits them fine because the bush stands offer shelter and aesthetic appeal to the farm as well as bringing in bird life which is appreciated by both of them. A hectare of wetland will enhance that, as well as provide a backstop for possible mishaps with effluent.
“Other farmers tell us we’re losing good-quality ground and we’re nuts. It’s a good-quality paddock and I don’t want to do the sums of what we’re losing.
“We thought about all the potential changes in legislation with regard to effluent and wanted to future-proof the farm for the kids as well as leave it in a better condition than we took it on.
“There’s always going to be more red tape and more people coming on to your farm, whether it’s customers through the dairy company, local authorities or whoever. All want to see first-hand that we’re doing what we can to farm sustainably and responsibly. If you have a major breakdown in the dairy or if you have the most amazing rainfall, you need an option where it can be contained.”
The idea is to have three small ponds on the drain leading around the edge of the wetland paddock and eventually into the wetland itself, so any potential runoff is filtered by plants before it trickles into the wetland.
“We have always enjoyed having the birds at our doorstep and with the native stands of bush on the farm we have birds galore.”
They intended to begin work on the wetland about 18 months ago, but a back operation for Fleur and the drop in payout put it on hold. Now Ged has plans to get on their 14-tonne digger and start carving out channels in the paddock in the next few months.
The chosen paddock was only resown in new grass three years ago and now it’s going to have channels two to three metres deep winding through it. The removed soil will be used to create islands which will be planted to create habitat for birds.
“You need different depths, with some parts deeper to get the water flowing and moving the nutrients around to where the plants can then remove and utilise them. This forms a bio-filter, leaving only clean water discharging to the receiving environment.”
They have ideal climate and land for a wetland with a rainfall about 4.5 metres a year and a water table only a metre below the surface in some areas, which is why the farm is sculpted into humped and hollowed rows.
It’s also reasonably productive land of loam, river silts and clay that milked 530 cows in the past on 270ha effective which incorporates the support block. The lower payout has prompted them to drop to 420 cows which should produce about 220,000kg milksolids (MS) this season on twice-a-day milking. It can be a long walk for the cows to the dairy, so they grow maize and grass silage as well as buying in meal and palm kernel when needed to ensure the stock are always fully fed and not losing condition walking. They’ve grown swedes and turnips in the past as well, but with the lower payout they’re focusing on increased pasture growth with maize as the preferred crop.
Blue clay from the farm has been used to seal the four million litre effluent pond which is then fed out via a travelling irrigator around paddocks. They’ve even reshaped paddocks to control rain runoff better, enabling them to reduce the numerous drains and streams that dissect the property, which is why they have the digger.
The environment is a priority on the farm and the wetland is the next project to protect and enhance it.
“We just think the wetland would enhance the area and be good for the birds, and the plants will take nutrients from any effluent that comes off the race around the edges, though we’re going to try and capture as much run-off from the races as possible with plantings along the edge.”
Fleur estimates about 1500 plants will be required for the wetland and she plans to plant the biggest finance allows to establish a canopy for the varieties that need more protection. Coconut husk strips have been recommended around plants to stop the pukekos pulling them out of the ground, as they so irritatingly do. The strips will increase the cost of planting, but Fleur says it will be worthwhile.
Every month she is putting money into the wetland plant account, regardless of payout, so she can get it underway as soon as the ground is dug out and her back allows.
“I want at least 50 species of plants. I want to go nuts on this with matai, kahikitea, rimu and down to hebes and grasses. I reckon if I can plant 10 plants each day, that will be 70 plants a week and I’ll get groups like Brownies and Guides in to help.
“The wetland has to be practical and doable, but there’s no reason it can’t look stunning as well as being effective for wildlife. And what’s better than sitting down and looking at the wildlife and thinking about what you’re doing the milking for? I see it as my stress relief; I can spot the wildlife and tick them off in my book.”
Many of the environmental aspects on a farm go hand-in-hand with animal welfare, Fleur says, such as the trees retained in paddocks that provide a habitat for birds and also shelter the herd when storms assault the valley or in the heat of summer.
They’d like to plant more shelter belts for the stock and they would choose manuka for the bees and other natives for the wildlife. If you’re going to plant, it may as well be worthwhile for the environment as well, Fleur reasons.
Around the rest of the farm they’ve been working away at environmental improvements and have completed about 70% of their permanent riparian fencing and planting. One paddock had 800m of stream running through it, so they’ve simply used standards and reels of tape there to keep the cows out until they get around to erecting permanent fencing. It’s a simple option that could be used more on farms until fencing can be established and Fleur says it’s perfect for areas where flooding occurs.
They’ve also built a class-one bridge and inherited three class-three bridges over waterways, and built the four million litre effluent pond.
Other environmental goals are on the agenda such as re-piping water back through the dairy, and solar panels.
“I’d like to have solar panels on the roof, I just think solar is so underused and we’ve worked out we need 65 kilowatts to start the machine up in the dairy, so if the price of solar panels comes down, we’d put them on the dairy.”
