Friday, 28 March 2014 15:07

Record turnout at Effluent Expo

Written by 

About 650 farmers, a record number, turned out for the fourth Effluent Expo, held at Mystery Creek, Hamilton on Tuesday.


While the majority of attendees were from the Waikato, some farmers came from as far away as Northland, Taranaki and the Wairarapa. In previous years the expo has drawn about 500 attendees.


Over 50 exhibitors were on show indoors and outside, with the aim of supporting farmers who want to boost farm profits while minimising their environmental impacts.


As well as the regional council and key sponsor DairyNZ, there were exhibits ranging from effluent irrigators through to storage ponds and systems designers.


"This year's record turnout of more than 650 demonstrates an ever increasing commitment from farm owners, sharemilkers, farm managers and workers, and agri-industry professionals to improving effluent management," says expo organiser Electra Kalaugher, an environmental farming systems adviser at Waikato Regional Council.


"It's great that the expo is really being seen throughout the industry as a one-stop shop to support farmers in upgrading their effluent systems.


"We were especially happy to note that about half the expo's visitors were farm owners, who are the decision makers for major investments like upgrading their effluent systems," she says.


"I'd particularly like to acknowledge the support of DairyNZ and also the efforts of Fonterra, Open Country, Tatua and Miraka in promoting the event to their farmers."


The expo comes at a time when organiser Waikato Regional Council is working more proactively with farmers whose properties have soils which present a greater risk of contaminants getting into waterways. The need for top quality advice and design from an accredited effluent designer is most critical on those farms and 10 of the 14 accredited companies were on display at the expo.


The expo also featured a range of seminars presented by industry experts on effluent issues, such as:


• key principles for designing an upgrade or installing a new effluent irrigation system


• nutrient management on dairy farms


• making the most of your effluent irrigation


• what the regional council is looking for in dairy effluent monitoring.

Many of these seminars were packed out and the presentations will shortly be available on the council's website, www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/forfarmers.

More like this

Keeping a watch on dairy farms

OPINION: Dairy farmers are under increasing pressure to safeguard their livestock, equipment and operations from a range of security threats.

Inconvenient truth

OPINION: You would've missed this one if you rely on mainstream media for your news, but your old mate reckons credit should go where credit's due: Emissions by dairy cattle decreased by 1.6% according to the latest NZ Greenhouse Gas Inventory report.

Taranaki dairy farms saved by $10/kgMS payout

Only this season’s $10/kgMS bumper payout has saved some dairy farms along the Taranaki coast from absolute disaster due to the present drought – dubbed as one of the worst ever for some.

Featured

LIC Space folds for good

Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.

Editorial: Time for common sense

OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).

National

DairyNZ Farmers Forum underway

Over 300 farmers and rural professionals have gathered in Hamilton for the first DairyNZ Farmers Forum for this year.

Machinery & Products

Shearing legend hooked on CanAm

Sir David Fagan, world-renowned competitive sheep shearer with 642 shearing titles worldwide and a knighthood to his name, now runs…

50 years of tractor pull

This year, the Fieldays Tractor Pull, in association with PTS Logistics, mark a major milestone – 50 years of crowd-thrilling…

The Wrangler's birthday bash

It's the Wrangler Limited’s 30th birthday and to celebrate the milestone a prototype of the E Series Wrangler - a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Free speech

OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.

Drug survey

OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter