Thursday, 05 September 2019 14:56

Improve waterways without destroying rural communities

Written by  Staff Reporters
DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle.

DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle says the dairy sector and our farmers share the same vision communities, Māori and Government have to protect and improve our freshwater resources.

Click here to read about the Government's water quality announcement.

He says the Essential Freshwater Package announced today by Government provides a real opportunity for everyone to have their say in this important conversation. 

“We know we can’t farm without healthy water and land, and we reflect this in our Dairy Tomorrow sector strategy, and we need to acknowledge the work that’s already taken place,” says Mackle.

“Our dairy sector is already on the journey to improve and protect water quality and our farmers have been working towards this for more than a decade.” 

Mackle said at the same time it is acknowledged that, in some catchments, community expectations for water quality has not yet been met. Here, further action is required by all land users, including dairy, to halt a decline and longer-term solutions put in place to restore the health of these waterways.

“This policy package focuses not only on dairy but all land use activities, including sheep and beef, horticulture and urban activities, reflecting that we all have a part to play in improving our waterways.”

“We agree with a focus on ecosystem health and alongside this, options to better track the impact of improvements farmers are making to work towards this. However, we have serious concerns that the proposed approach of reducing nitrogen and phosphorus may not achieve improved ecosystem health and could have a significant impact on the viability of farm businesses and rural communities. We need to understand this better and what it means for our water quality, farmers and for the country.”

Overall DairyNZ supports the Essential Freshwater Package but Mackle points out that it hasn’t been involved in its development.

“So we need to understand the proposed policies in more detail.

“It is important the policies contribute to meaningful improvements in water quality for the community and there are realistic expectations for all landowners. 

 “We believe on-farm initiatives are already contributing to maintaining or improving water quality across many catchments and the most recent LAWA report supports this, with almost all water quality measures showing more sites improving, than not.”

For more information on the new Essential Freshwater Package proposal visit www.mfe.govt.nz

More like this

Less hot air

OPINION: Farmers won't get any credit for this from the daily media, so Milking It is giving the bouquets where they’re due.

Featured

NZEI unhappy with funding cut for teachers

Education union NZEI Te Riu Roa says that while educators will support the Government’s investment in learning support, they’re likely to be disappointed that it has been paid for by defunding expert teachers.

EU regulations unfairly threaten $200m exports

A European Union regulation ensuring that the products its citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation worldwide threatens $200m of New Zealand beef and leather exports.

Bionic Plus back on vet clinic shelves

A long-acting, controlled- release capsule designed to protect ewes from internal parasites during the lambing period is back on the market following a comprehensive reassessment.

National

Top ag scientist to advise PM

A highly experienced agricultural scientist with specialist knowledge of the dairy sector is the Prime Minister's new Chief Science Advisor.

Machinery & Products

Hose runner saves time and effort

Rakaia-based equipment manufacturer Pluck’s Engineering will soon start production of a new machine designed to simplify the deployment and retrieval…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Science fiction

OPINION: Last week's announcement of Prime Minister’s new Science and Technology Advisory Council hasn’t gone down too well in the…

Bye bye Paris?

OPINION: At its recent annual general meeting, Federated Farmers’ Auckland province called for New Zealand to withdraw from the Paris…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter