Tuesday, 24 November 2020 07:55

Nonsense rule irks West Coasters

Written by  Peter Burke
Some parts of the West Coast can get up to three metres of rain per year. Some parts of the West Coast can get up to three metres of rain per year.

The government's new freshwater regulations are creating a few headaches for West Coast dairy farmers, according to DairyNZ South Island head Tony Finch.

He told Dairy News that West Coast is by far the most diverse region in New Zealand. Dairy farms are scattered over 600 kilometres and the climate in the north around Karamea is dry and vastly different to the south near Franz Josef, which can get up to three metres of a rain a year.

He says the wintering rules are a real battle for some farmers because of how wet it can get.

“There are issues with the pugging rules, slope and stock exclusion. They are all very challenging for that environment not mention the nitrogen cap. On the West Coast it’s very hard to effectively apply N and get an immediate response when you have the rainfall you can get.

“The N cap will be real challenge over there as well,” he says.

Finch says dairy farmers on the West Coast are challenged at the best of times without the new regulations and he’s concerned at the level of support they are getting from local councils. He says they realise that despite the protests, the Government is not going to make major changes to the new rules.

“Rather it will just be tinkering with them. As for the dates when farmers can sow crops, that is simply dictated by the weather,” he told Dairy News.

“The other week we saw a lot of cultivation going on, so they are all in breach of the November rule. No farmer wants to see their paddocks lie fallow. They don’t make any money by leaving it like that and they know it doesn’t help the environment. It’s a nonsense rule and should state that farmers should sow crops when it is practical to do so, or words to that effect,” he says.

Finch says up until recently the weather on much of the coast has been cold and wet, but says lately there has been a lovely spell of weather, the grass is growing and some farmers are cutting silage.

More like this

Featured

Rural contractors call for overhaul of ag vehicle rules

Following a recent overweight incursion that saw a Mid-Canterbury contractor cop a $12,150 fine, the rural contracting industry is calling time on what they consider to be outdated and unworkable regulations regarding weight and dimensions that they say are impeding their businesses.

NZ seeks certainty on US tariff, says McClay

Trade Minister Todd McClay says his officials plan to meet their US counterparts every month from now on to better understand how the 15% tariff issue there will play out, and try and get some certainty there for our exporters about the future.

National

Machinery & Products

JDLink Boost for NZ farms

Connectivity is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing farmers, but it is now being overcome through the…

New generation Defender HD11

The all-new 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 looks likely to raise the bar in the highly competitive side-by-side category.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Buttery prize

OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…

Gene Bill rumours

OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter