Waikato dairy effluent breaches lead to $108,000 in fines
Two farmers and two farming companies were recently convicted and fined a total of $108,000 for environmental offending.
The Waikato Regional Council says grants of up to more than $750,000 from the Waikato River Authority for environmental projects are a sign of the solid partnership between the two agencies.
“The eight projects involving the council that are being funded in the authority’s latest round will help us make a real difference,” says council chief executive Vaughan Payne.
“I thank the authority for their financial support and the close collaboration we have developed to protect the environment.”
The grants for projects involving the council were part of a total $4.4 million in funding announcements for 40 projects overall.
A maximum of $300,000 will go the council for investigating ways to protect and restore the Whangamarino wetland.
Nearly $118,000 will be available for an important project looking at ways to effect land use change in the Upper Waipa River catchment.
More than $88,000 is available for a planting project at Lake Whangape and $87,000 for Lake Waahi wetland restoration.
Another $63,000 will go towards Okohua Stream riparian restoration, $57,000 is for restoring the Moanatuatua peat bog and $32,500 is available for restoration of Lake Waikare’s northern foreshore.
Finally $8000 will go to the council in partnership with police to remove car bodies and waste from the Waikato River and Lake Karapiro.
“This is a great continuation of investment in cleaning up the Waikato and Waipa rivers. The Healthy Rivers Wai Ora plan change will help protect this ongoing investment.”
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Ireland's Minister of state for Agriculture says it’s hard to explain to Irish farmers the size and scale of NZ farms.
Dairy farming in New Zealand offers career progression and this has motivated 2026 Central Plateau Share Farmers of the Year Navdeep Singh and Jobanpreet Kaur.
A partnership between Canterbury milk processor Synlait and the world's largest food producer, Nestlé, has been celebrated with a visit to a North Canterbury farm by a group including senior staff from Synlait, the Ravensdown subsidiary EcoPond, and Nestlé's Switzerland head office.
Canterbury milk processor Synlait is blaming what it calls "a perfect storm" of setbacks for a big loss in its half year result for the six months ended January 31, 2026.

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