Growth means balancing green issues | Rural

Growing the primary sector without seriously compromising water resources and quality is one of the big challenges New Zealand faces, believes Mike Scarsbrook, DairyNZ development team leader for sustainability.

"If we want growth there will have to be trade-offs between that growth and water quality and supply but I'm confident we will find a balance which is acceptable," he said.

Finding that balance within the dairy industry may include new cow breeds which produce more milk but excrete less nitrogen; the use of different pasture species to withstand dry conditions while providing more nourishment for cows; water storage in ways which do not affect river flows and continued advances in effluent management, he said.

The dairy industry has already taken significant steps to improve water quality through the storage and irrigation of effluent and the voluntary Clean Streams Accord.

Mr Scarsbrook said New Zealand hadn't been "100 per cent Pure" since humans arrived and even though some waterways and lakes were suffering from nutrient enrichment, others had improved in water quality. That had come about partly through changing public attitudes, the work of regional councils, implementation of the Resource Management Act and the efforts of the dairy industry.

New Zealanders are very proud of their environment and the quality of waterways he said. "Much of the pressure for change has come from the public, rather than demands from off-shore markets where our primary produce is sold."

The dairy industry has become a target for criticism and concerns continue about the impacts of more intensive dairying. The increase in farm numbers has resulted in strict conditions applied to farming operations and significant penalties for those who failed to meet them.

DairyNZ and Fonterra work closely to help farmers comply with regional council rules regarding effluent management.

"Most farmers don't want to break the rules and want to do the right thing by the environment," said Mr Scarsbrook . Doing so doesn't come cheap. Effluent management systems can easily cost farmers more than $100,000 in start-up, but on the flip side, spreading the effluent onto pasture represents significant saving in fertiliser costs.

One of the big issues facing dairy farmers was providing enough effluent storage for when pasture was too wet to irrigate. "Massey University has developed a pond storage calculator which includes rainfall and soil types for Horizon Regional Council which is now available for all districts, including the Bay of Plenty."

DairyNZ also has a number of resources to help farmers plan, design and construct dairy effluent ponds, including the publication Farm Dairy Effluent Pond Design and Construction produced in conjunction with the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand.

The suitability of pumping and irrigation equipment to handle the effluent is also crucial and Mr Scarsbrook said DairyNZ has released a code of practice for effluent design. It is also developing an accreditation system which would help assure farmers the systems they were considering investing in would do the job.

"Installing systems which are not fit for the purpose raises the risk of non-compliance and costly repairs when failures happen." Regional councils come down hard on farmers who fail to comply with resource consents over effluent storage and irrigation, even if they are the result of equipment failure. Mr Scarsbrook said farmers sometimes feel they are being singled out, as municipal authorities don't face the same public scrutiny.

"Farmers well understand the need for them to protect ground and surface water but they also believe others should be taking responsibility for their actions too.

"There are many poorly performing septic tanks in rural areas. It is important that when farmers take steps to improve water quality, those in the same catchment aren't undermining it."

Fencing out and excluding stock from waterways under the Clean Stream Accord has also had a beneficial impact, but the voluntary scheme expires next year.

"Industry is working with a range of stakeholders to build a successor to the Accord."

While many farmers who had planted out retired stream and river banks were pleased with the results, it was not a simple exercise. "It's not just a matter of putting up fences."