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5 Term-limit mutters after DairyNZ poll Vol 21 No 40, October 16, 2023
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Damned if you don’t Richard Rennie
NEWS
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Policy and regulation
EGULATIONS requiring dams and reservoirs over a certain size to be classified for their risk are likely to prove an expensive surprise for farmers in coming months. After over a decade of to-ing and fro-ing over what will be included and how to include it, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s dam safety regulations will come into effect on May 13 next year. They are likely to capture 3000 water storage bodies nationally, of which it is estimated as many as 900 may be on farms and properties for stock water and irrigation storage purposes. Irrigation New Zealand technical adviser Stephen McNally said the water bodies captured under the dam regulations extend beyond dams themselves to include the likes of irrigation ponds and even irrigation canals. “There are two thresholds for the water bodies it captures. One is a body of water contained within a 1m high wall and totalling 40,000cubic metres or more, and the other is water held within a 4m high wall, and totalling 20,000cubic metres or more.” Dam owners will have only three months after May 13 2024 to determine if their water body is captured by the regulations, and to register with local authorities.
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“These are often large structures that no one has always paid much attention to in the past and it applies retrospectively. It could include that dam your grandfather shaped with his bulldozer back in the 1970s.” Working with MBIE, Irrigation NZ has developed a dam “ready reckoner” to help farmers quickly and cheaply determine if they have a qualifying structure on their property. If it qualifies, the structure’s risk level must be assessed, requiring a certified engineer to determine its “low”, “medium” or “high” potential impact category (PIC). The dam’s PIC is determined by not only its construction, but also the downstream consequences of any failure of the structure, and include community, environmental and even cultural impacts. McNally said at this point New Zealand landowners are likely to experience a significant bottleneck, with only nine certified senior dam engineers operating in the country at present. “With 3000 sites out there, that is a massive workload. The implications are that you are not going to do that between now and July next year.” In its submission on the dam regulations, Federated Farmers expressed concern over the need for low PIC dams to be submitted to a registered engineer for audit and approval. Continued page 3
Sun rises on robotics in the field After a decade and hundreds of hours of development, Tauranga company Robotics Plus has gone commercial with its multipurpose, hybrid autonomous machine for orchard use. The Prospr machine was showcased at the robotic agricultural event FIRA 2023, in Salinas, California and has already attracted interest from US buyers.
TECHNOLOGY 3
‘Beautiful Flower’ begins breast health journey A state-of-the-art bright pink campervan is set to take life-saving breast health education to all regions of New Zealand.
NEWS 8 Greenhouse gas emissions Border security heightened in decline largely due to the amid global spread of agriculture sector. African Swine Fever.
‘Don’t be a dick’ is a motto worth remembering, Ben Anderson says.
NEWS 7
OPINION 17
NEWS 12
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