Friday, 01 September 2023 07:55

Model farm attracts big crowd

Written by  Peter Burke
Lucy Burkitt and interactive model showing the different ways to reduce nutrient and sediment loss to waterways. Lucy Burkitt and interactive model showing the different ways to reduce nutrient and sediment loss to waterways.

There are a multitude of ways for farmers to reduce nutrient and sediment loss to waterways, but explaining this is a challenge.

At this year’s Fieldays, Massey University came up with a very simple and effective way of showing what’s possible by building an interactive model showing all the different ways.

Lucy Burkitt, a senior research officer at the School of Agriculture and the Environment at Massey, was literally swamped with people – students and farmers interested in the various options.

“The objective was to showcase some of the research we are doing and in particular the mitigation options that are available to farmers to try reduce nutrient and sediment loss to waterways,” she says.

The model is quite life-like in that it shows a typical rolling hillside complete with fences, animals etc and the different options are clearly shown. A feature, which attracted both young and old, was the option to press a button and set the irrigator in action.

The model shows variable rate irrigation, which Burkitt says is about the precise application of water to try and minimise nutrient loss particularly if the farm has different soil types.

“If there are paddocks closer to a waterway ideally a farmer might apply less water,” she explains.

The model shows fencing, riparian planting and controlled drainage, which allows the water to back up in the soil, resulting in denitrification – where the nitrate is converted into nitrogen gas that cleans the water. There is an example of wetlands and a wood chip bioreactor. In this case, water is collected in drains in a paddock and then put through the bioreactor where once again the nitrate is removed.

“We also show a detainment bund, which is at the bottom of a slope that allows ponding and for phosphorous to settle,” Birkett adds.

“We are also showcasing good practice with grazing management, which means leaving grass at the bottom of the slope so that it will capture some of the sediment.”

Burkitt says the model has worked well and has helped farmers to better understand some of the options that are available to them to deal with nutrient and sediment on their farm. She believes that the model will enable farmers to visualise what this all might look like.

More like this

Massey courses meet industry needs

Massey University is regarded by many as New Zealand’s leading tertiary education and research institute for the country’s primary industries.

Featured

Farmers urged not to be complacent about TB

New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.

Editorial: Making wool great again

OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.

National

Machinery & Products

Farmer-led group buys Novag

While the name and technology remain unchanged and new machines will continue to carry the Novag name, all the assets,…

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Make it 1000%!

OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…

Own goal

OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter