Piggery effluent polluting stream
Waikato Regional Council has sought an interim Enforcement Order from the Environment Court to stop piggery effluent from entering a waterway north of Te Aroha.
Good effluent management requires having a well-designed system and processes for workers to ensure the effluent collected is applied to pasture in the right quantity at the right time, says DairyNZ.
Get it right and your farm will save fertiliser, improve soil condition, prevent animal health issues and comply with council rules or resource consent.
The key to all this to understand soil water deficit – essential to prevent ponding and run-off and to avoid applying effluent to saturated soils.
Soil water deficit is the amount of water, or effluent, which can be applied to the soil before it reaches field capacity (the amount of water held in the soil after excess water has drained away).
If effluent is added at field capacity it will likely result in ponding, runoff or leaching.
According to DairyNZ, the average dairy cow produces about $25 worth of nutrients annually as farm dairy effluent (FDE) – from a 400 cow dairy herd about $10,000 of nutrients annually.
If these FDE nutrients are used effectively the fertiliser bill can be much reduced.
The DairyNZ farm dairy effluent spreading calculator (an app) allows farmers to easily calculate nutrient loadings and application rates for dairy effluent based on a number of customisable inputs.
This means farmers
can manage the application of their effluent nutrients with greater precision.
There are two calculators in this app: a quick calculator for spray irrigation systems such as travelling irrigators and sprinklers, and an advanced calculator for slurry tankers and muck spreaders. It is also available as an Excel spreadsheet if you prefer to use your computer.
Ask the right questions on soil, landscape
When deciding whether to install or upgrade a farm dairy effluent system it’s important to ask the right questions, gather information and take professional advice.
You want the system to work well for many milking seasons so consider the following:
Most crucial is how landscape and climate affect effluent management. The main factors in the success of effluent application are:
Management practices need to be matched to soil and landscape risk to prevent loss of effluent into the surrounding environment.
New Zealand soils are classified in high and low soil risk categories for farm dairy effluent application.
New technology allows for the development of tools and programs to help with effluent, water, and nutrient management decisions on farm.
Many expensive regional council fines can be avoided if a fail-safe device is installed on an irrigator.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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