Minister for Agriculture launches farmers’ fact sheet
Minister of Agriculture, David Carter (centre), in Aorere last Saturday. Photo: Jo-Anne Vaughan.
The Minister for Agriculture, David Carter, accompanied by local councillors Trevor Norriss and Martine Bouillir, visited the Aorere farming community for the official launch of a new practical farm fact sheet last Saturday.
Community board members Carolyn McLellan, Mik Symmons and Karen Brookes also attended the launch.
The splash-proof poster, entitled “Realistic Solutions to Real Farm Problems”, contains a fold-out pictorial guide to good environmental practice that dairy farmers can pin up on their dairy shed or office walls as a reminder to everyone working there.
The fact sheet covers issues such as the prevention of run-offs and leakage, keeping stock out of waterways, healthy stream habitats and water conservation, and was developed in close consultation with Aorere dairy farmers. It reflects the information the farmers felt would be of greatest benefit to other dairy farmers in the region as they work to improve water quality, and draws on up-to-date technical expertise and technological advances, says Aorere farmer and Landcare Trust representative Sue Brown.
Sue, who organised the visit, said it had been the third attempt to bring the minister to this area. The minister congratulated the group on its forward-looking approach and acknowledged that sustainability in production, animal welfare and food safety were the three key parameters to getting New Zealand products on shelves.
The New Zealand Landcare Trust has helped with the production of the fact sheet as part of the Aorere Farmers as Leaders Catchment Project. In addition to the design, layout and publication NZ Landcare Trust also organised the initial meeting to gather information and liaised with the farming community during its design. The project also received funding from the Ministry for Agriculture.
Sue said that freshwater management in particular was a matter of getting past the emotions, moving forward and using new technologies to achieve positive change.
“This is a mind-altering project,” added Sue. “It is to remind ourselves what is important to us and why. It is a pictorial guide because the pictures tell the message. There are rules around environmental outcomes and our farmers have worked past that and towards that environmental outcome. We have been a success for ourselves, but this is also a successful project for the ministry which funded it.”
The poster will be mailed to those dairy farmers who could not attend on the day. As the posters cost around $20 each to print in the splash-proof finish, there are only limited copies available.
Landcare Trust will post a pdf file on its website so anyone can download an A4 printable file and laminate it at their own cost.
Ina Holst
