Effluent disposal proving a challenge for farmers, says Accord snapshot report
Tony Reilly and his daughter Alice on the property at Motupipi that the Reilly family leases from Stu Chalmers and Lynley McConnon. The winding creek running though the land has been fenced to keep stock out of the waterway, as the Clean Streams Accord re
The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord Snapshot Report for the 2008/09 dairy season reveals that the management of effluent discharge remains a significant challenge for dairy farmers.
While some progress was made toward achieving three of the Accord’s other targets, the number of farms where effluent discharge complied with resource consents and regional plans dropped to its lowest level yet. Nationwide full compliance rates on effluent discharge decreased from 64% in 2007/8 to 60% in 2008/9. The report suggests that the decrease may be explained by increased compliance monitoring and by the inclusion of feed pads and other ancillary functions in the compliance monitoring.
The 2008/09 figures for the Tasman region are as follows (07/08 figures in brackets): full compliance 89% (93%); minor non-compliance 6% (5%); significant non-compliance 5% (2%); number of farms assessed 131 (100), suggesting a small downward turn in compliance levels but still far above the national average.
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries director-general Murray says that, as the government agency charged with managing the Accord, MAF will support the industry to improve effluent compliance figures while targeting two additional key areas this coming year.
“The first is a need to verify the data gathered in the Accord,” he says. “Audits were completed by Fonterra in 2004 and 2006. This coming dairy season, MAF will commission a further nationwide audit of data on behalf of the Accord partners. The second area of focus is nutrient management – supporting farmers to take the next step from simply having a nutrient budget, which 99% of farms do, to actively managing nutrient inputs and outputs. Effective nutrient management is a key part of “smart” farming. Excessive nutrient use and loss indicates a breakdown in the efficiency of the system and means nutrients are being wasted.
“No farmer wants to run his business via an inefficient system as this is bad both for the environment and for the farmer’s bottom line. A number of nutrient management tools already exist and MAF will continue to work with industry partners to see these used more widely,” said Mr Sherwin.
Mr Sherwin says MAF will continue to work with the industry to provide the support needed to bring about the necessary change in farmer behaviour.
Meanwhile, Tasman District Mayor Richard Kempthorne says that initiatives like those being undertaken in Golden Bay by the nationally recognised Aorere Catchment Group are “setting our region in a good light”. Mr Kempthorne mentioned the Aorere group’s work on farm plans and farmer-led effluent workshops as good examples of the dairy industry taking the lead.
A recent workshop showed that some farmers in the Aorere catchment are continuing to improve their effluent management systems. The positive effects of farmer initiatives in the catchment on aquaculture harvesting rates have also been well-documented.
Golden Bay Federated Farmers Dairy spokesperson, Michelle Riley said that the Clean Streams Accord Snapshot 08/09 was for the period to the end of June 09 and that, by the time it was released, non compliance issues would have been dealt with by farmers.
“So have issues that were highlighted earlier this season,” she said “In order to understand the trends from year to year you need a lot more detail on the actual breaches of compliance. Significant non-compliance has increased by 3% to 5% for the period. Although the statistics suggest a slip in standards, it’s important to recognise that, from an on-farm perspective, there has been so much work done on systems and management. We look forward to seeing those gains reflected in the next lot of statistics.”
Michelle added that, nationally, farmers have made good progress on the graduated targets in the areas of stock exclusion from waterways, bridging and culverting water crossings, protection of wetlands and nutrient management.
Landowners have appreciated support from Andrew Burton at TDC in providing fencing materials, and the Streamcare Group working towards planting and weed control along waterways once they have been fenced, said Michelle.
“Farmers in our area have also been proactive in attending effluent days where farmers have explained their systems using new technologies. We’ve come a long way from the compliance standards of 30 years ago. Equipment is improving and our understanding of the land/water interface is getting better all the time,” she said.
“We recognise the importance of effluent storage. It gives farmers flexibility to utilise the water and nutrients in drier summer months, taking the pressure off the wetter spring period in particular. As farmers can afford to, they’ll increase their storage capacity.”
Michelle explained that the Aorere Catchment Group has recently surveyed its farmers to determine changes being made in the area since the project started.
“When they are released, results will outline attitudes, systems in use and capital expenditure, but initial trends suggest that improvements are being made across the catchment.”
Michelle also pointed to the Farm Effluent Design Standards and Code of Practice documents available to farmers through the DairyNZ website.
“These documents outline design processes aimed at ensuring effluent equipment will fulfill all the objectives of a rigorous best practice system, namely that all farm dairy effluent will be captured and spread uniformly for optimum plant growth, safely and without contamination of waterways,” she said. “This is just one of a number of initiatives, such as the Primary Water Partnership, the Dairy Industry Strategy for Sustainable Environmental Management, and the Farm Enviro Walk, which are being developed in the dairy industry as frameworks and resources to assist landowner best practice.”
Neil Wilson
