Farmers say contribution ignored

Environment Waikato is being accused of ignoring the more than $8 billion economic impact of farming in the region.

Waikato Federated Farmers organised an economic forum on Monday after Federated Farmers Dairy Section vice chairman John Bluett accused the regional council of focussing on the environmental impact of farming at the expense of the industry's economic impact, which amounted to about $21,000 per person in the EW area.

The economic forum, which was closed to the public and press, followed two EW-organised agricultural summits, also held behind closed doors, which Mr Bluett said were hijacked by environmental issues.

Agriculture, and the region's 5000 dairy farmers in particular, are in EW's gun for a century of intensive farming, which the council has blamed for 75 per cent of the region's waterways being unfit for swimming.

Mr Bluett, who farms at Te Pahu, said the point of the summit was to ensure EW met its statutory obligations and took economics into consideration in its regional policy statement.

"What we want is the economic data in there, and everyone told," Mr Bluett said.

Waikato Federated Farmers president Stew Wadey hoped the meeting might prevent a repeat of Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council's One Plan scheme to issue farmers with an all-encompassing resource consent.

Mr Wadey was confident EW would listen, as farmers were a huge part of its rates base.

If Federated Farmers request was ignored, the organisation would raise the issue with the Government, Mr Wadey said.

Relations between Federated Farmers and Environment Waikato are at an all-time low thanks to the council's stance on effluent management, which farmers say has moved away from offering advice on complying with EW rules, to choosing to prosecute them instead.

EW deputy chairman John Fisher, who farms near Cambridge, is under council investigation following an effluent spill in October.

DairyNZ, the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand and Fonterra highlighted the dairy industry's $7 billion to the Waikato economy, Meat and Wool New Zealand highlighted its sector's $1 billion worth to the region and, it was revealed, the deer industry was worth $50 million.

Stuart Locke, chairman of the finance department at Waikato University's Management School, which delivered an economic impact report on the National Agricultural Fieldays, was not aware of the summits or the forum and was surprised they had been organised without management school input.

"We have not had a forum at which this sort of discussion has been held," Prof Locke said.

Don Fraser, of Fraser Farm Finance, which facilitated the forum, said EW did not have a clear understanding of farming's economic impact on the region.

"No-one has ever really sat down and thought about the impact each sector has on everybody else in the Greater Waikato," Mr Fraser said. "If you took dairy farming out of the Waikato, we would be left with the Waikato Times and Gallaghers."

James Parsons, Meat and Wool New Zealand for the North North Island, said the summit had a collaborative tone.

Environment Waikato chairman Peter Buckley did not return calls from the Waikato Times.

- © Fairfax NZ News