Heavy rain forces farmers to dispose of milk | Rural

Some Eastern Bay of Plenty farmers may have to pump diluted milk onto pastures because road closures, slips and flooding will prevent tankers reaching their properties.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Water Management Group Manager Eddie Grogan said that Fonterra had contacted council to explain the situation.

Mr Grogan said that farmers would need to ensure they followed the guidelines carefully and avoided direct contamination of waterways.

"The heavy rainfall means that there will be large amounts of milk that farmers will need to dispose of on site.  Irrigation of waste milk to land is the preferred option of disposal in an emergency situation, however given the flooding of paddocks, this may not be possible for all farmers," Mr Grogan said.

``As a result of milk disposal there may be odour issues for neighbouring properties and we ask for the public's understanding as the flood water recedes and roads are reopened. Farmers should be diluting the milk at a ratio of 1:10 when discharging it onto land, as this helps reduce any possible effects to pasture, and also minimise any odour production. After irrigating the diluted milk, clean water should be flushed through the system, again to help minimise odour.

"This is an emergency situation so hopefully people can be tolerant of the temporary odour as they can be assured this is the best option to protect the environment," he said.