Green but not much grass!
Dairy farmers in the lower North Island are working on protecting next season, according to Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre, who farms just north of the Horowhenua township of Levin.
We've gone from prosperity to austerity in the last 12 months. Though it’s been tough, dairy farmers can take pleasure in telling the public what they have been investing in the environment.
In January-March 2015 Federated Farmers and DairyNZ surveyed dairy farmers nationwide to discover their five-year spend on environmental work. At least 500 replied and, weighted against national averages, farmers were seen to have spent $1 billion.
The biggest portion was spent on effluent management, then stock exclusion, retiring land and riparian planting.
While participating in the survey I was surprised how much you don’t take your spending into account until you write it down. On our farm it was close to $300,000 in the past five years.
When I fly into Hamilton airport I can see a lot of farms are doing their bit. The landscape has changed and so have we all. Conversations on the environment have shifted from finger pointing to lets dig in and make things better for the next generation.
Farmers understand the need to balance increases in production and profits with environmental responsibilities. The survey shows that NZ dairy farmers’ environmental spending averaged $90,000 each in the past five years. Waikato dairy farmers collectively spent at least $350m. It is encouraging to see their work quantified.
We’ve still got a lot to do, but let’s celebrate this achievement before we get to the next one, because it will take a little longer if the payout remains low.
In Waikato, farmer’s spending may also be supplemented by the Waikato River Authority’s Clean-Up Trust Fund, helping pay for big projects such as riparian planting on the Waikato and Waipa rivers. So far up to $6m has gone annually into these projects. Farmers may apply for funding for such projects; applications close August 14.
Our community, industry groups like DairyNZ, Federated Farmers, councils and iwi can contribute to a better Waikato, simply by doing a little each year for ten years. This will result in big gains, as our survey has shown.
• Chris Lewis is Federated Farmers Waikato provincial president.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
There have been leadership changes at the Hamilton-based Dairy Goat Co-operative, which has been struggling financially in recent years.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.