Challenge seen in intensive farming
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The move in recent years to more intensive farming, and the expansion of dairying, has meant that greater quantities of contaminants are going into waterways and that's what Horizons wants to clear up, said Horizons One Plan implementation manager Peter Taylor.
The main contaminants are phosphorus, nitrogen, sediment and faecal bacteria.
Mr Taylor said the Farm strategy process, part of the proposed One Plan, will recommend ways a farmer can better manage the contaminants to reduce their impact on waterways.
The Farm strategy has been trialled in 21 farms in the region and the results of these trials will be revealed at the field days.
"We are endeavouring to give farmers and their advisers plenty of warning about what might happen in the future so that they can set in place plans to meet these potential new requirements.
"I've been directly involved with 15 of the 21 Farm strategies and some of them that will be particularly challenged, especially around the nitrogen loss targets, they've been good to deal with."
Mr Taylor said those farmers haven't thrown their hands in the air and said it was impossible, but rather their attitude was, `How are we going achieve this? Will you give us the time to get there?' They're been inquiring."
He said while farmers have said they don't want to be ruining rivers, the issue is that what they consider ruined, and what the rest of the wider community believe is ruined are often different and he expects more robust discussion about that.
Mr Taylor said the concept of the Farm Strategy's holistic approach to providing a whole-farm view as to the contaminants and where they might be coming from has generally been supported by farmers.
"They also like that it allows for some farm-by-farm negotiation, rather than a one-size-fits-all, and around all those issues there has been positive feedback," Mr Taylor said.
"I think there is genuine concern about what the One Plan might mean for the viability of their farming business, and how that can be accommodated in terms of mitigation techniques and time to implement the lower rates if they get to implement those mitigation options."
- © Fairfax NZ News
