Young water science talent recognised
Third-year student Cady Burns has won the Waikato Regional Council Prize in Water Science for 2024.
DAIRY FARM effluent grows in value as fertiliser prices rise, says Waikato Regional Council. In its publication ‘Effluent management; for the health of our waterways and groundwater’, the council urges farmers to treat effluent as a fertiliser, but carefully because it lacks balance, being very high in potassium.
“This can lead to higher leaching levels of magnesium and subsequent animal health problems if potassium soil test levels are high. You can manage this risk by increasing the effluent area or by making silage on the effluent area and feeding it out on non-effluent areas of the farm.”
Applying shed effluent at light rates will ensure stock feed intakes are not adversely affected.
Managing dairy effluent is also necessary for the health of waterways and groundwater, so knowing the regional council’s rules for effluent management is important.
Under the Waikato Regional Plan farmers cannot exceed 25mm per application and 150kg of nitrogen from effluent per hectare per year.
“So you need to know how much your irrigator is applying and how concentrated your effluent is,” the council says.
Dairy effluent must not discharge into surface water or contaminate groundwater. Farms able to store effluent before it is applied to land means effluent doesn’t have to be applied during wet periods when the risk of surface ponding and run-off is high.
This substantially reduces the risk of overflows to surface water and plant nutrient uptake is maximised.
Many benefits in right pond size
EFFLUENT STORAGE facilities should be correctly sized for a farm’s systems and management, and they should be sealed.
Having adequate storage allows a farm to:
'A lot of interest and positive responses' appears to be the way farmers are viewing the Government's initiative to hold a series of woolshed meetings around the country.
A Southland farming leader wants the regional council to delay a proposed regional rates hike, much of which is intended to fund flood protection works.
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) says access to personal banking services in rural communities is fundamental to promoting outcomes that benefit Kiwi consumers.
A group set up to boost education and promotion of wool says it has made positive strides during the first year of its three-year strategy.
Meat processor ANZCO Foods says despite a challenging business environment, it has posted a net profit before tax of $61 million for 2023.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.