Farming for the future in the high country was the theme for the biennial event hosted by Castle Ridge and Mt Arrowsmith Stations at Ashburton Lakes.
“We are all bound by budgets and climate and it is only by working together that we can make progress,” Harmer said.
“Today is about the future, how to ensure that the environment in which we live is in as good if not better condition for future generations to come.”
The only way that will happen is if everyone – landowners, Department of Conservation, regional and central government and all interest groups work together to come up with solutions to problems and new ways of doing things, Harmer said.
“We are a small group of landholders in this area and DOC is the biggest of those so we all work together as neighbours to ensure the outcomes we want and need.
“Gone are the days of ‘Oh that’s DOC’s problem’. It’s all of our problem and we are all part of the solution.”
Landowners are working closely with the DOC in both weed and pest control and water monitoring.
“If I have one gripe it is that Environment Canterbury (ECan) do a lot of similar work and often appear to actively avoid us, the staff have no communication with us and it becomes difficult to know who to contact if we want access to some of that monitoring data.
“How can farmers know what solutions we need and work on making change if we can’t access the information about hot spots.
“I don’t believe a them-and-us attitude will help progress environmental management.
“We all need to share information and skills,” Harmer said.
Castle Ridge has been pro-active in the environment plan process for several reasons.
“We believed we were already doing a lot of things with regard to water and soil quality – you don’t live in this environment all year without understanding the impact of prevailing winds, frost, flood, stock movements.
“We don’t like losing soil to wind or runoff, fertiliser overuse is money wasted and stock welfare is paramount to our whole farm system.”
The Harmers also know there are things they need to do.
“While finances will always dictate where money is spent, we wanted to have a plan for how and when some of these things would quietly be worked away at.
“We believe we produce a range of very natural products, close to organic and very much free-range.
“As consumers are demanding to know what they are eating and wearing we wanted to be able to prove that we are doing what we say and that should flow on to opportunities for market contracts now and into the future.”
Harmer likens the farm environment plan process to health and safety.
“Initially there was ‘Do we have to?’ then came the realisation that actually most of it is common sense and we as farmers are already doing a lot of good things and have been for decades.”
Some of the very easy practical things are based around pasture management but Harmer said stock exclusion from waterways all of the time is never going to be practical in the area.
“So we have to think about the issues of water quality and come up with sensible catchment-based ideas which will address the issues for that particular water catchment.”
There is a large bird population in the Ashburton Lakes high country that is hugely affecting water quality in the shallow lakes.
“And Fish and Game need to start coming to the table more as DOC and other landowners are already working on it yet the damage being done is often underestimated.”
It is an opportunity for the type of innovation needed in the environmental space.
“We need to address the whole problem and create solutions together, something we as farmers have been working on for a number of years and continue to believe is the way forward for us.
“We can’t do this on our own and every person in New Zealand has a responsibility to be part of the solution not just place blame – we are all to blame for where we are today.
“Let’s be smart about this and think beyond the easy way out of rules and punishment to solutions and collaborations to create positive long-lasting outcomes that future generations will look back on and say ‘Thank you for your foresight’.”
Let’s work together
Collaboration and partnerships are critical to the health of the high country, Conservation Department area manager Brad Edwards says.
And if farmers build the relationships there will be pay-offs.
Kerry Harmer had bought into it and it is those relationships building at the grassroots that are the way to can work together.
“Water is integral in this country and we want to get a handle on the (Ashburton) lakes.
‘It’s been a brave move by the Harmers to buy into this.”
Their buy-in allowed the department over the past 10 years to put a water monitoring scheme in place with data loggers in the lakes, water sampling and tools to measure the flow of rivers and creeks into the lakes.
Because the lakes are shallow it doesn’t take much to tip water quality either way but the Harmers farm environment plan and fencing of priority areas was a big help in limiting the amount of nitrogen going onto the lakes.
“Our landowner relationships are very, very important. They are critical in our day-to-day work because we need the help and support of everyone to make the difference and there are big picture spin-offs for all.
“DOC is a neighbour and we need the help of the community that we are part of to achieve our goals.”
They include controlling weeds and pests and managing water quality.
“If there’s a takeaway message – we need to all work together as neighbours,” Edwards said.
