Friday, 10 February 2012 09:33

Help to manage riparian margins

Written by 

The expertise of Lower North Island dairy farmers has been used to create a series of fact sheets to help farmers nationwide build and maintain the riparian margins of streams on their land.

The DairyNZ Farmfacts have been created by DairyLink, made up of representatives from Horizons, DairyNZ, Federated Farmers and Fonterra. The group was set up to enable the organisations to work more closely together to provide dairy farmers in the Lower North Island with more workable and consistent information.

The fact sheets, available to farmers nationwide at dairynz.co.nz, include advice on appropriate plant species, pest and weed control and methods to maintain stream banks.

DairyNZ Lower North Island regional leader Scott Ridsdale says the Farmfacts are a good starting point for farmers with questions on riparian planting.

"The first step in creating the Farmfacts was to invite farmer input. We used the experience of a range of farmers from those who had carried out a lot of fencing to those who were still in the early stages of a riparian planting plan," says Scott. "That way we were better able to anticipate the kind of knowledge farmers would want access to no matter what their situation."

A riparian margin provides a buffer by reducing the amount of sediment, phosphate, dung and E.coli washing off land and entering waterways.

There are many benefits from protecting and managing farm waterways, says Horizons rural advisor Peter Taylor.

"Time and resources put into this is an investment which creates direct benefits for the farm, for the waterways and for the broader environment."

Horizons has not only lent their knowledge to farmers wishing to plant riparian margins, last year they helped plant over 7000 plants along streambanks in their region.

"Everyone in our region benefits from cleaner waterways not just farmers, so in recognition of that, each year we have a small pool of funding available to support riparian planting on farms," explains Mr Taylor.

The Farmfacts, part of a wider library covering a range of subjects, are available online at dairynz.co.nz/farmfacts.

More like this

Featured

$2b boost in NZ exports to EU

New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.

US tariffs hit European ag machinery markets

The climate of uncertainty and market fragmentation that currently characterises the global economy suggests that many of the European agricultural machinery manufacturers will be looking for new markets.

Tributes paid to Jim Bolger

Dignitaries from  all walks of life – the governor general,  politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and  friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Fonterra vote

OPINION: Voting is underway for Fonterra’s divestment proposal, with shareholders deciding whether or not sell its consumer brands business.

Follow the police beat

OPINION: Politicians and Wellington bureaucrats should take a leaf out of the book of Canterbury District Police Commander Superintendent Tony Hill.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter