Dairying and the Environment in Otago
Autumn 2006
Welcome
Some waterways still to be fenced
Welcome to the fourth
edition of our newsletter
which is designed to keep
you informed about Otago
Regional Council initiatives
with the dairy industry, and
activities that we are undertaking with dairy farmers
around Otago.
If you or someone you know
in the local industry didn’t
receive this newsletter and
would like to be on the mailing list, please contact the
Otago Regional Council.
Two years ago Council set a target to
Council still has the 100% target so
have all waterways protected from
these waterways must be fenced.
dairy cows by June 2005. In the period
Fonterra has agreed to work with
December 2005 to February 2006 168
Council to round-up the last strag-
farms were surveyed. This showed
glers. Those dairy farms with water-
that 92.2% of waterways are now
ways yet to be fenced need to get
protected on dairy farms.
moving and put those fences in place.
Since 2004 there has been a significant
* For the Council target, ‘waterways’
amount of fencing completed as there
are defined as any natural or man-
were 83% of waterways fenced then.
made channel with flowing water at
Well done to those farmers who have
done the extra fencing!
Some farmers went the extra mile to
accommodate other river users’ needs
in their fencing plans. We know of
one farmer who designed their
fencing to meet the needs of the
whitebait fishermen who use the river.
Now!! The remaining 7.8% of waterways which are unfenced.
any time, with drains (man-made) and
other waterways (streams, rivers, etc.)
differentiated on each property.
Clean Streams Accord: What it means for Otago farmers
Under the Clean Streams Accord Regional Action Plan
(RAP) for Otago the dairy farms in Otago must:
• exclude all stock from waterways
• have a nutrient management plan, and
• comply with dairy shed effluent application
permitted activities.
The RAP is Otago’s personalised version of the Clean
Streams Accord. The Accord is an agreement made
between several government ministers, Fonterra and
regional councils and is aimed at improving the environmental performance of the dairy industry.
The deadlines for the targets above are varied. As mentioned previously, stock were meant to be out of waterways in Otago by June 2005. Farms who have not met
this target will be contacted individually. The nutrient
management plan for every farm must be completed by
2007 and all dairy shed effluent application is expected
to comply with permitted activity provisos straight away.
One major risk to waterway quality - contamination
of waterways through tile and mole drains - was not
covered in the RAP. Fonterra and Council developed a
separate agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, to address that issue. Many farmers have been to
Farmers attend a workshop at Clydevale
(Reminder: if you have tile or mole drains on your property do not forget to complete this plan by September
2006.) Please contact either the Land Resources team at
the Council or Lew Metcalfe at Fonterra (ph: 0274 711
809) if you need a hand with the plan.
If you require a copy of the RAP, please contact the
Land Resources team on:
03 474 0827 or 0800 474 082.
workshops on preparing a tile and mole drain farm plan
It is also available on the website www.orc.govt.nz
that is now compulsory for all farms with subsurface
in the Environmental Management section under
drainage. The plan will form part of the ‘Best on Farm
Farming and Land Management: Dairy -
Practice Manual’ audited by Fonterra each year.
Environmental Initiatives.
Introducing Fonterra’s new environmental specialist
Lew Metcalfe, Fonterra Environmental Specialist, is
Lew would like farmers to use him as a point of contact
responsible for assisting farmers with their on-farm
and a person to bounce ideas off, especially if they are
environmental management in the South Island. This
contemplating capital expenditure for environmental
relatively new role covers a broad range of activities
improvements.
focused on providing Fonterra suppliers with the infor-
You can contact Lew Metcalfe on:
mation, solutions and tools they need to operate their
farming businesses in an environmentally sustainable
manner.
DDI and Mobile (0274) 711 809.
Seventy North Otago irrigators complete plans
During November and December last year farmers representing all seventy farms in the new North Otago Irrigation Company completed an environmental farm plan.
As irrigation rolls out, the farmers in this region are now
well placed to make good decisions about looking after
the environment. The requirement for all farms to have
a plan was a condition of the water consent.
The farmer group, North Otago Sustainable Land
Management (Noslam), prepared the plan guidelines
and then assisted the irrigators to prepare their plans.
The Noslam farmers have a practical understanding of
the benefits of farm planning.
Noslam and the Regional Council are planning to
continue to support the irrigators with field days and
Farmers attend a Noslam workshop
information sharing.
Environmental Considerations booklets
The Council has a series of quick guide environmental booklets for you to use.
If you would like a copy of any of the titles below, please contact Land Resources on:
03 474 0827 or 0800 474 082 or email: [email protected]
Where can I
find out more?
• Check out the Environmental
Considerations booklets.
• For further advice on best
management practices
contact land resources staff at
the Otago Regional Council.
• Talk to your fertiliser representative, farm advisor, or
consultant. These people
should also have good knowledge of ways to minimise
effects of farm practices on
the environment.
70 Stafford Street
Private Bag 1954
Dunedin
www.orc.govt.nz
Freephone 0800 474 082
Tel 03 474 0827
Fax 03 479 0015
Email [email protected]