Friday, March 29, 2024

Big changes coming

Neal Wallace
Farming will change fundamentally if new freshwater quality management rules restricting intensive winter grazing and fertiliser use are introduced.
Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Government last week released Essential Freshwater: Healthy water, fairly allocated, a report on how to improve freshwater quality within five years.

While it lacked detail the Government singled out winter grazing, hill country cropping, feedlots and nutrient use as causes of degraded water quality that will be a focus.

Southland Federated Farmers president Geoffrey Young said many of the Government’s proposals are included in Environment Southland’s Water and Land Plan, elements of which Federated Farmers has appealed against for, among other reasons, lacking flexibility.

That plan proposes restricting the area of winter cropping to the lesser of 15% of a farm or 100ha and to slopes less than 20 degrees.

“To get through winter without a feed crop you would probably have to halve your stocking rate,” he said.

“It is just a fact stock need to be fed winter crop in Otago and Southland.”

Most farmers contain discharge from crops but Young said any new rules have to take account of farmers’ needs, soil types and topography.

Total Ag Waikato director Rob Macnab said the inclusion on the Government’s new Freshwater Leaders Group of Beef + Lamb NZ farmer council member Graeme Gleeson, Landcorp environment head Alison Dewes, B+LNZ environment policy manager Corina Jordan and Synlait founder John Penno gives him confidence solutions will be practical.

Centralised water regulation will remove the piecemeal approach of regional councils and reduce the influence of self-interest groups.

But there can be no blanket application of rules over the whole country.

“I’m confident the group understands there cannot be a blanket approach, that it has to be tailored to what fits each situation.”

Similarly, he hopes the group will temper the enthusiasm for blanket forest planting, which is not sustainable for anybody.

However, the 2020 timeline to establish a new National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and a new National Environmental Standard for Freshwater Management is tight.

Macnab said farmers are changing their management to care for the environment but that is hindered by mixed messages from regional councils and the Government.

“They are making a lot of progress – both the dairy and sheep and beef industries – but to make further progress we have got to get a lot of people who have a different mindset to be taken along with this.”

He urged farmers to participate in the freshwater debate, saying regulations will influence agriculture for several generations.

“This is not a short journey. It is intergenerational. You need to be part of the conversation.”

Environment Minister David Parker declined to be interviewed.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said farm management changed dramatically once farmers realised the environment was under pressure.

“It’s a process of ongoing improvement and most farmers are in a position to understand why we need to do this and have taken their own steps to improve their operations.”

Changes to wintering systems and fertiliser use are already reducing environmental impact and work is under way at the Ministry for Primary Industries to spread those messages further.

“This is not going to stop farming. It is going to improve farming and improve the quality of product going to our customers.”

O’Connor does not think new regulations will stop irrigation.

“Irrigation is always going to be part of NZ farming systems but it has got to be used wisely and not lead to degradation.”

B+LNZ chairman Andrew Morrison said the sector shares the Government’s goal of cleaner water and has a target of every farmer having a farm environment plan by 2021.

“This is one of the four goals in our environment strategy, that New Zealanders should be able to gather food and swim in the freshwater surrounding sheep and beef farms.”

Morrison said 40% of farmers already have a form of environment plan but B+LNZ also has other initiatives.

They include a five-year project co-funded with the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment to look at the sustainable development of hill country, developing tools with Landcare on efficient use of hill cropping and partnering with the developers of the Land Utilisation Capability Indicator and Mitigator to improve the identification and minimisation of contaminant flows into waterways.

DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle also supports the Government’s plan and said the sector has research on standoff pads, soil compaction and encourages restoration of wetlands and planting.

“In (Southland’s) Aparima River, for instance, we are monitoring how initiatives like targeted planting at specific times of the year can improve soil condition and lower water contaminants.

“These are complex projects because every region and farm is different and they usually involve multiple land uses, not just dairy,” Mackle said. 

Total
0
Shares
People are also reading