Helping farmers reach N targets
A DairyNZ programme to help farmers in two Canterbury catchments to reduce N loss has proved highly successful.
Controversial farm management tool Overseer is getting $5 million state funding for an upgrade.
The funding was announced in the Budget delivered today by Finance Minister Grant Robertson.
The Coalition Government and the primary sector will work together to boost the science behind the valuable Overseer farm management tool, say Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Environment Minister David Parker.
“Overseer is a New Zealand tool used by a range of primary industries and regional councils that helps measure nutrient use and greenhouse gas emissions. Well-used, it can assist farmers to minimise waste and maximise profits,” says O’Connor.
“All farmers and growers want to keep their fertilisers on their paddocks and crops, and they want the best tools to manage their environmental responsibilities.
“That is why Budget 2018 includes an investment of $5.0 million of operating funding over the next four years to enhance Overseer,” says O’Connor.
Overseer predicts the amount of nitrate N leaching below the rooting depth of the pasture. Federated Farmers says Overseer has limitations and needs to be improved.
The extra funding for Overseer will enable:
“The extra funding in Budget 2018 opens up opportunities for farmers to trial new technologies, techniques and tools that would otherwise be too risky or expensive to try,” says Parker.
“We need practical, science-backed tools to achieve this Government’s goals to improve land use, achieve a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050, and help clean up our rivers so our kids can swim in them without getting crook.”
The Ministry for Primary Industries, AgResearch and the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand each hold one-third stakes in the Overseer intellectual property.
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.