fbpx
Print this page
Saturday, 06 July 2019 09:52

Less mud throwing — Editorial

Written by 
A Fish and Game-released photo of cows in deep mud. A Fish and Game-released photo of cows in deep mud.

It looks like the next attack on farming will take the form of a campaign against winter grazing and the negative impact this can have on livestock and water quality.

Done correctly, winter grazing is an effective way to keep animals fed and healthy over winter in a pastoral farming system when grass growth is low or non-existent.

However, farmers in Southland, Otago and Canterbury are bracing for a major animal rights campaign against winter grazing practices, after reports that fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and even drones were used to film stock in mud.

It’s likely that a highly emotive crusade, using these pictures and targeting urban audiences, will be used to throw mud – literally and figuratively – at the farming sector. It will insinuate that the industry does not care about the animals it farms or the land they are on. Watch this space! 

Lobby groups Fish & Game and Forest & Bird have denied any link to the campaign, but you can bet they’ll be in boots and all to criticise farmers when it does finally go public.

Despite this being another cheap shot at farming, the industry can only blame itself for allowing it to gather momentum. As during the previous alarms about water quality and animal welfare, the trumpets will be blaring about the public’s lack of tolerance of cattle up to their knees in mud during winter.

Such practices, albeit only by a minority of farmers, are bad for the animals, bad for the land, bad for water quality with the resulting sediment run-off and a very bad look for farming. 

As Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s chairman Andrew Morrison rightly says: “Poor winter grazing practices are unacceptable as they are destructive to soils and waterways and can lead to poor animal welfare outcomes.” 

Farmers clearly now must have a social licence to operate and this includes correct animal welfare and environmental standards as expected by the public and consumers. Farmers who disregard these standards, such as poor winter grazers, need to be weeded from the sector like other poor performers

Meanwhile, the anti-farming activists must realise that constantly bashing farmers is not the way to get them to do more in sustainability and compliance. ANZ’s Mark Hiddleston believes this is only deterring talented people from entering the industry and farmers from investing in making changes to meet the new sustainability requirements.

More like this

From Sky Tower to cowshed

Every morning dairy farmer Sam Waugh sees the Auckland Sky Tower through his window. It's a great reminder of one of his key life goals - giving young people from towns and cities insights into farm life.

Celebrating dairy farmers this International Women's Day

Siobhan O’Malley is a dairy farmer, innovator, businesswoman and community volunteer, an example of the thousands of Kiwi dairy farming women throughout New Zealand who multi-task every day to contribute positively to their communities.

Unique dairy farms open their gates

A dairy farm working to increase endangered skink numbers and a boutique farm selling milk in recycled bottles will open their gates to the public this Sunday.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

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.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand…

Machinery & Products

AGTEK and ARGO part ways

After 12 years of representing the Landini and McCormick brands in New Zealand, Bay of Plenty-based AGTEK and the brands’…

100 years of Farmall Tractors

Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of…

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…