Hill country farmers out to avoid anti-environment tag

n Lochiel general manager Kim Robinson samples water quality on his northern Waikato farm.

01-04-2008 | Hugh Stringleman

As farmers within the Lake Taupo catchment come to terms with their new nitrogen discharge allowances for resource consent to keep farming, hill country farmers in the greater Waikato region may be exposed to the regulatory wave.

Controls on stocking rates and fertiliser use have been imposed by Environment Waikato under its Taupo Variation, now being challenged through the Environment Court by Federated Farmers and others.

Future land use intensification has been stopped in its tracks, Taupo landowners say. Surface water and ground water quality throughout the greater Waikato region is a big issue for Environment Waikato, which encompasses some of the most intensively farmed areas of the country.

Hill country farmers fear they will be caught up in the regulatory enthusiasm, which has been called a "leach-mob mentality".

To the majority of urban people, further controls on farming in the name of the environment look to be reasonable.

But they could stifle productivity growth and prevent land use changes.

New Zealand could cut itself off at the knees with added controls on primary production, which earns 60% of export income.

The recent State of the Environment report from the Ministry for the Environment highlighted the link between land use intensification and fertilisers.

"There is no doubt that the intensification of pastoral land use has increased the pressure on our surface waterways and groundwater," the report said.

In the past decade dairy cow numbers have grown by 24%.

The amount of N fertiliser use nationally has increased ten-fold since 1985 and doubled since the mid-1990s.

The report contained graphs of monitored and tested nitrate and dissolved reactive phosphorus levels in predominately pastoral catchments, which have stayed the same or increased over the past 20 years.

The Green Party argued that the published report was incomplete and called for resource consents by all regional councils for any land use intensification proposals.

It included all dairy farm conversions, with a call for limits on the use of N and phosphate fertilisers.

Lochiel Farm general manager Kim Robinson says Waikato hill country farmers fear being tarred with the same brush as dairying.

So monthly water quality tests have been conducted on the corporately-owned Lochiel to safeguard its ongoing development and production, to show that farming activities do not cause leaching or water quality problems.

The owner and general manager of the big property have no wish or incentive to degrade the environment and are prepared to change farming practises should it be necessary.

They want to farm sustainably, consistent with good environmental practises and profitable production. They have taken the initiative with water quality testing to provide facts and figures to counter any regulatory moves which might be proposed.

The Mangatia stream rises within and drains about two-thirds of 2900ha Lochiel Farm, near Glen Murray.

In runs to the Opuatia stream and then into the Waikato river.

Robinson samples Mangatia water near the source and then again on the farm's northern boundary, part of which is the Opuatia.

He argues that within-farm catchment testing is a good indicator of any adverse effects from farming by way of nutrient leaching and runoff.

After a year of monthly samples, in all weather conditions, nitrates and phosphates have remained at very low levels, both between 0.002 to 0.004 parts per million.

"The World Health Organisation drinking standard is 11 ppm of nitrates, so we can and do safely drink that stream water," he said.

Nor is there any increase in nutrient content of the stream water from source to Opuatia junction.

"No measured environmental effects have resulted from our fertiliser use, and we would change farming practices if anything did show up," Robinson said.

Lochiel employs GPS-guided and verified precision spreading by plane of fertiliser, both annual phosphate and some N in winter.

Lochiel uses strategic applications of 40kg/ha N across 600ha in late winter for lamb finishing, a total of about 50 tonnes of nitrogenous fertiliser.

"Nitrogen is a useful tool, and I certainly don't advocate just tipping it on.

"It is still the cheapest way of getting extra feed for young stock," he said.

As the cost of fertilisers is rising quickly, farmers have even less incentive to waste fertilisers, Robinson said.

Urea has just risen to $690/t plus $100/t application cost.

Riparian fencing keeps livestock out of waterways and encourages tree, shrub and pasture growth along stream banks.

Rough sidlings and hill springs have also been fenced and planted with large numbers of poplar poles.

Lochiel has fenced off and encouraged wetlands along the Mangatia course, to filter any sedimentary run-off after rainfall "freshes".

"Within 24 hours after heavy rain the stream flows clear again," Robinson said.

The station also draws up an annual nutrient budget, with the help of fertiliser supplier Ballance Agri-Nutrients, which prevents overuse.

The assumed N losses are 13kg/ha/year, almost all of which has been shown to come from animal urine, not fertiliser applications.

"All our neighbours are very good stewards of the land as well," Robinson said.

Water quality tests on Lochiel's flat country, which includes runoff from its neighbours, have shown the same very low level of nitrates and phosphates.

"We get paid for producing good quality livestock, and that doesn't come from raping and pillaging the land."

Robinson believes that farmers have to be prepared with facts and figures to stand against unwarranted resource controls in the name of environmental protection.

  Printable View