Young water science talent recognised
Third-year student Cady Burns has won the Waikato Regional Council Prize in Water Science for 2024.
More Waikato farmers are taking their eye off the ball when it comes to effluent management, says Waikato Regional Council.
It says monitoring of effluent management has had mixed findings.
Following the recent easing of Covid restrictions in the Waikato, the council’s rural compliance team has resumed its proactive monitoring of effluent management systems across the region’s 4000 dairy farms.
“Weather conditions have been pretty good for irrigating, and we would have expected to see effluent being used effectively as a fertiliser and not having a negative impact on the environment,” said rural compliance team leader Stu Stone.
“But we’ve found one in 10 of the farms visited either has not got adequate infrastructure in place, or their management practices have slipped.
“It is unfortunate that we are placed in a position of having to formally investigate the worst of these cases, and there is a real possibility that some of them may result in prosecution,” Stone said.
It is encouraging farmers to connect with the wider industry to get good guidance on dairy effluent infrastructure.
Accredited designers listed by DairyNZ are the appropriate people to get guidance from.
“They will design an effluent infrastructure system that is fit for purpose for that particular farm,” says Stone.
He reminded farmers that even with a good level of infrastructure there still needed to be investment made in staff training and all farm staff needed to be vigilant on a day-to-day basis to avoid mishaps.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.
OPINION: This old mutt well remembers the wailing, whining and gnashing of teeth by former West Coast MP and Labour…
OPINION: Your canine crusader gets a little fed up with the some in media, union hacks, opposition politicians and hard-core…