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Dead eels in the main waterway. Photo Credit: Waikato Regional Council.
A farming company and an earthworks contractor have been fined $76,500 for unlawfully excavating a north Waikato stream.
Gregan Farms Limited and Steve Barker Limited were fined $31,500 and $45,000 respectively by District Court Judge Melinda Dickey in Hamilton last week.
They were each convicted on a single charge in respect of damaging nearly 1400 metres of a tributary of the Waitakaruru River in February 2021.
The case was taken by environmental regulator, Waikato Regional Council, following a complaint by a member of the public. The subsequent council inspection discovered extensive damage to the stream, including 48 dead eels and significant sediment deposits into the water course.
“This behaviour is very disappointing,” says the council’s regional compliance manager Patrick Lynch.
“The contractor in this case has 40 years’ experience in the earthworks industry. Working around water courses without causing undue damage, and knowing the environmental regulations that apply, should be bread and butter for him.
“Many will see the fish kill in this instance as quite distressing and certainly not what we are aiming for in caring for our waterways,” says Lynch.
“The damage done here will take some time to remediate.”
A farm owner and two former Waikato contract milkers were recently fined $27,000 over a lack of feed for 230 cattle and a lack of treatment for cows suffering from milk fever.
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A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
Convictions and fines totalling $112,500 have been imposed on a logging company for repeated environmental damage on a farm near Wahi between August 2022 and October 2023.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
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The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
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