Rewarding farmers who embrace sustainability
Winners of DairyNZ’s Sustainability and Stewardship awards in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards have their eyes firmly fixed on progressing a positive future for New Zealand dairy.
Civil engineer Rex Corlett has won a prestigious engineering award for his work on effluent pond design and construction, reports IPENZ–Engineers New Zealand.
Corlett’s work has influenced regional council rules on dairy farm effluent storage, IPENZ says. It won him the Angus Award which recognises engineering excellence in waste, water and amenities.
A chance visit to a dairy farm 10 years ago sparked his interest in effluent ponds.
“I was horrified,” he says. “There were damp patches around the outside of the pond and its downstream slope was leaking into a nearby creek.”
Given the farmer had used his own excavator for the works and only track-rolled the surface, Corlett says the leakage wasn’t surprising. But he was surprised to discover this kind of practice was commonplace.
The key to improving farm systems, he says, is talking to farmers, building respect and trust, and convincing them that good design isn’t overkill but sound, sensible practice.
“Farmers naturally want to do as much work onfarm as they can and choosing to employ an engineering consultant often doesn’t come easily.”
But producing a low-maintenance, long-term solution makes their lives easier, he says.
Doing it once and doing it right means no costly fix-ups of mistakes, or replacement two years down the track.
“It’s actually just good asset management principles.”
Currently principal engineer (rural) in Opus’ Christchurch office, Corlett is drafting the third revision of IPENZ Practice Note 21, and continues to work with DairyNZ and regional councils.
He has recently been seconded to the North Canterbury transport infrastructure recovery team to manage reconstruction and upgrading of the Picton-Christchurch rural highway following the Kaikoura earthquakes.
The Angus Award was one of two supreme technical awards presented at the IPENZ Fellows and Achievers Awards on April 7 in Wellington.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.
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