fbpx
Print this page
Thursday, 28 June 2018 08:55

Give farming a fair hearing

Written by  Andy Loader, co-chairman of the Primary Land Users Group
Riparian planting and fencing around waterway keep stock and pollutants out. Riparian planting and fencing around waterway keep stock and pollutants out.

OPINION: Many groups out there, large and small, seem to believe farming is the root of all evil to the environment. 

They talk about intensive agriculture and pastoral farming being emitters of methane, farming in prestigious landscapes, adding to carbon dioxide, polluting the water ways, etc as if these were the only sources of pollution.

The agricultural industries are the first to admit that they affect the environment, but it is not all bad and they have taken huge steps to mitigate the detrimental effects of their activities on the environment. 

We all affect the environment as a result of our civilised way of living. For centuries man has always tended to locate towns and cities close to waterways for supply of drinking water and transportation. As a result man has also used the adjacent waterways as a convenient means of disposing of his waste; only in the last century or so have we begun to treat waste before it enters waterways.

Most towns and cities still dispose of their stormwater and treated effluent by pouring it into the nearest waterway or into the ocean.

In the light of the above the agricultural industries are asking for a fair go.

Have these critics looked at what agriculture has done for this country and what has already been done to mitigate the effects of agricultural operations? And have they noted the millions of dollars farmers have spent already and are still spending to mitigate these effects?

We saw farmers 25 years ago acknowledging that water quality was an issue and starting to address the problem then. They addressed many current issues like keeping stock out of waterways, sediment control, fencing, tree planting, building wetlands, etc.

By planting forests, woodlots and individual trees farmers have helped stabilise hillsides and stop erosion which reduces sediment going into streams and provides shade for stock. 

The amount of fencing done to keep stock out of waterways is huge and has helped improve water quality. 

Riparian planting is helping keep the invertebrates in these streams. Many farmers have fenced off native bush, wet sumps and wetlands and even built new wetlands to help treat the runoff from their farms. 

The unintended consequence of these actions is that farmers have been doing their bit for climate change in tree planting and protecting native bush and wetlands without the bureaucracy telling them what they need to do. 

Many critics seem to have preconceived ideas about what farming hasn’t done to protect the environment, and sometimes make statements that have little basis in fact; and they ask for money to fight the agricultural sector. 

They seem to have forgotten, or conveniently ignore, that the agricultural industries provide the bulk of New Zealand’s overseas income and most of the local population’s food.

When these groups have had their way and stopped the pastoral farming in NZ, where are they going to get the food to feed the nation or the income to pay bills? Maybe they are going to turn to support the production of genetically modified food grown in laboratories.

If we are to carry on living as at present, then what is needed is a balanced viewpoint based on reality that allows for the way forward to be sustainable and environment-friendly.

Farmers do not deny they affect the environment, but as a key contributor to the food chain and the national economy, and having already voluntarily taken many mitigation measures, they are merely asking for a fair go. 

But they will expect the rules imposed on them to apply equally to other sectors of our society.

• Andy Loader is co-chairman of the Primary Land Users Group

More like this

B+LNZ remains unconvinced by low-slope map

The Government’s new proposed low-slope map for stock exclusion is better than the original, however the map still won’t practically work on the ground, says Beef+Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ).

Restoring our freshwater systems

OPINION: When I started writing this piece, I was sitting in my Kaiapoi office on a sweltering 30-degree summer’s day, and I could hear faint “plops” as youngsters pulled “phat manus” and “bombs” off the bridge into the Kaiapoi River as generations before them have done.

Do they know that the river is deemed “unsuitable” for swimming with E. coli levels of up to 2,420 per 100ml? This information is available on LAWA’s website, Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) - Can I swim here? It makes for sobering reading. With levels this high, we should supply these youngsters with full PPE gear to wear over their shorts. The saddest fact is that this story is repeating itself from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

We are witnessing the systemic collapse of New Zealand’s freshwater systems as our environment can no longer handle the extreme pressure we have placed on it through decades of urban and rural intensification. We have taken too much from our environment and we must start giving back.

Change is coming with a renewed focus on healthy waterways through the National Policy for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM), which the Government announced in August 2020, as well as Plan Change 7 to the Canterbury Land & Water Regional Plan (PC7), which progressed through submissions and a hearing in front of independent hearing commissioners last year.

I attended the PC7 hearing in December and it boosted my spirits to observe the passion our community has for improving Waimakariri’s waterways. I hope the changes that come out of PC7 will be bold and far reaching.

The concept of Te Mana o te Wai underpins the NPS-FM and places the highest value on the health of freshwater systems. This philosophy is the new basis for how we, as a society, interact with our environment. The NPS-FM creates a framework for change, but we must also change how we think as council bodies, as communities, as businesses, and as individuals about how our systems/practices must shift from productive growth mode to sustainability mode, and how we can live within an acceptable environmental footprint. On an individual level, we need to realise how, over the long term, that wet paddock or riverbed block would benefit the planet if it were left to revert to a wetland or a more natural state.

This year the Waimakariri Water Zone Committee will focus on priority areas and working with the community to improve our waterways.

We will support change through three newlyformed catchment groups – the Sefton Saltwater Creek Catchment Group, the Landcare Working Group, and the Biodiversity Group.

We are ahead of the curve in Waimakariri in terms of engaging with farmers, waterway conservation groups and the wider community, but we still have a long journey ahead to restore our rivers and streams.

We must work together in a united way to leave our land and water for future generations to inherit in a better state than when we found it.

Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua - As man disappears from sight, the land remains.

Michael Blackwellis is chair of Waimakariri Water Zone Committee.

State funding for riparian planting

More than 600km of Taranaki river and stream banks will be planted with a million native plants next winter as the region’s farmers take advantage of a $5 million government boost.

Featured

Feds back Fast-Track Approval Bill

Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.

Machinery builder in liquidation

In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.

Two hemispheres tied together through cows

One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.

National

Frontline biosecurity 'untouchable'

Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has reiterated that 'frontline' biosecurity services within Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will not be cut…

Machinery & Products

New name, new ideas

KGM New Zealand, is part of the London headquartered Inchcape Group, who increased its NZ presence in August 2023 with…

All-terrain fert spreading mode

Effluent specialists the Samson Group have developed a new double unloading system to help optimise uphill and downhill organic fertiliser…