Editorial: Developers must find answer

OPINION: It's not often the Upper Waitaki Basin finds itself at the top of the national news agenda, but plans for three large scale European-style dairy farms - where up to 18,000 cows will be kept in cubicles indoors for much of the year - have generated a political storm.

There are fewer issues more fundamental to our future than the question of sustainable farming and the damage unsustainable practices could do to our reputation. It has long been a source of great national pride that our climate is kind enough to allow dairy farms to thrive outdoors all year round.

Anyone who has had anything to do with a large scale modern dairy farm may find it a stretch to describe them as free range, but they certainly have it over other models from around the world where the animals spend most of their lives inside smelly barns.

Even with the best management techniques and shelter available it is hard to imagine anything other than a miserable existence compared to their sisters who are allowed to run free outdoors.

The headlong push to find fresh fields for dairying have led three companies to propose large scale 'cubicle' farms in the Upper Waitaki basin. They believe that the harsh climatic conditions can be overcome by building large sheds to house the cows and that it will be a viable and humane form of farming.

The backers were probably not naive enough to assume they would be patted on the back for their efforts, but probably did not expect the backlash they've received. The outrage from the Green Party was as predictable as the knee-jerk support from Federated Farmers. Perhaps most tellingly Prime Minister John Key says the Government does not support the idea and even Fonterra, the dairy exporter, has expressed strong reservations.

It is an extremely emotive issue due to one simple fact - it is not the way Kiwis imagine we farm. Nor does it suit the brand image our biggest-earning export industry was built on.

Presumably the most important question - are the farms humane? - has been answered by the fact the developers want to go to the expense and difficulty of building the sheds at all.

Environment Canterbury will consider the applications for water and discharge rights as normal and has no say over the ethics of keeping animals inside for months. It is hard to see any other government organisation objecting since the whole aim of the sheds is to protect the animals from the elements.

The fundamental question is whether or not it is a step too far in the pursuit of greater returns from intensive farming methods.That question is ultimately for the developers themselves. Judging by the reaction so far, they can have no doubt about what the public thinks.

- © Fairfax NZ News