PC1 Pause Looms as Coalition Targets Waikato Farm Rules
A pause on Waikato Regional Council's (WRC) plan change that sets new freshwater rules for farming could be announced in the coming weeks.
A three-year community-led project to replant the riparian margins of the Waitoa River between the Puketuku and Station Road bridges near Matamata has been completed.
Landowners on either side of the river between the two bridges have upgraded eight kilometres of fencing and, with funding and support from Waikato Regional Council (WRC) and Fonterra's Sustainable Catchments programme, planted about 17,000 native plants and trees.
WRC Hauraki catchment team leader Aniwa Tawa says the project wrapped up with a final planting day involving staff from both Fonterra and WRC infill planting a further 200 trees and doing some weeding to release young plants put in the ground in previous years.
"The effort that has been put into this project by everyone has just been so awesome," says Tawa.
"All that is requireed to be done now is some ongoing maintenance by the landowners to keep the young plants free of weeds so they can flourish and grow to be big and strong."
Farms across the upper North Island are trialling different pasture mixes as part of a research programme that aims to build greater resilience into farming systems.
Election years are always a concerning time for farmers, according to DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.
The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are coming to the West Coast of the South Island.
Most dairy regions around the country have had a pretty good season so far says Tracy Brown.
Rural leader Mark Hooper has been appointed as an independent director to the NZPork board, bringing extensive farming, governance and advocacy experience to the role.
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