Opinion

Support farmers’ dam endeavours

Alternative View

Alan Emerson

LEN French is an innovative and well-respected farmer from Whareama, east of Masterton. Len takes farming seriously. He can tell you his farm’s carbon profile and any nutrient runoff. He adopts several measures to limit his runoff and uses Overseer. He’s also a patient farmer and he needed to be.

Back in 2013, he purchased some additional flats. The soil was excellent and the temperatures benign but after two dry years he figured that he needed to irrigate.

He decided to build a dam and that was the start of a complex, expensive and often frustrating saga.

To build the dam he needed two consents: a resource consent and a building consent. In one small corner of the flat-bottomed valley that would be flooded, a slip had come down some years ago and blocked a small drain. This caused the water to back up and create what the council considered was a natural wetland.

Many experts agreed there was nothing significant in the wetland but the regional council still argued it was “significant”.

Putting it in perspective, the proposed dam was 13ha in size and 10 metres deep. The wetland, for what it was, occupied less than a hectare. Because the wetland was in the Wellington region, which is apparently short of wetlands so all wetlands were considered significant.

Despite being told he couldn’t proceed, French didn’t give up and found a way through the maze of regulations that the council seemed unaware of.

French then got Federated Farmers involved, who helped him fight the new regulations. The council finally allowed French to offset the wetland by creating additional wetlands elsewhere. He had planned to do that anyway.

If the regional council had looked at the site in the middle of summer they would have been unaware of any wetland. If any old drain can be considered a wetland then all farmers will have major issues.

Another problem was that the local Whareama River was considered to have “special ecological value”. The drain over which the main dam wall would be built was considered a tributary of the Whareama. French was told that the proposed dam would “destroy the ecology” of the old, blocked drain.

The end result was that French had to fence three kilometres of stream and plant 7000 natives.

There was an issue of fish passage and that required expert input from a scientist in Whakatāne who had to fly down and consult, all at the farmer’s expense. The solution was to have novaflow pipes and spat ropes. This was despite the fact that fish couldn’t get into the existing dam due to a natural barrier.

Finally, the modified plan was accepted by council and it went out for public consultation. The locals welcomed it, as did iwi and the district council, but Forest & Bird objected. Surprisingly, they didn’t say what their concerns were.

French invited the local Wairarapa Forest & Bird representatives to view the proposal and they supported it. Head office didn’t and couldn’t even be bothered to visit the site. After several months of repeated approaches they withdrew their objection with no explanation.

I’m pleased they did but the process seemed ridiculous. We live in an area subject to drought and anyone neutralising the effects of drought should be supported.

So come spring, work will start on the dam construction. It is the result of five years of meticulous planning and huge dollops of cash.

The consent process has cost over $350,000 before a sod has been turned, plus an additional $280,000 for non-dam conservation work. The cost of the dam itself will be an extra $1.5 million.

The dam will irrigate between 140-200ha, with the farm continuing to run sheep and cattle. Small seeds and other options will be considered in the future. The farmers are resolute that the dam will enhance the environment and not adversely affect it.

At this stage the French’s are hoping for a return on investment of 5-6%.

There are additional returns for the community.

There will be 3km of public walkway, plus boat ramps and native planting.

The local rugby ground, home of the mighty East Coast rugby team, will receive free irrigation.

What needs to happen from here is a complete change in mindset from the bureaucracy. Farmers need to be encouraged to put dams on their property. It should be an inexpensive and streamlined process to get all the consents and approvals.

Notice also needs to be taken of the local community and the facilities a dam may provide.

Finally, we need more farmers like French, who are prepared to put their time and money where their mouth is and go out to create a dam.

We need more farmers with his commitment and a lot more dams.

RED TAPE: Alan Emerson recounts a farmer’s five-year battle to get consents to build a dam.

Your View

Alan Emerson is a semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com

Hosting Olympics during tough times

From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

THEY might still be calling it the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after last year’s postponement, but it starts this week in the middle of 2021. Nothing should surprise us anymore.

A brave call to continue with it while the pandemic still rages and most Japanese think it’s a bad idea.

As you might know, I’m a history buff so I’ve been thinking of the Belgium Olympics, which were 101 years ago in 1920. There are some parallels with Tokyo but when I investigated it, Belgium had it far tougher.

The First World War had raged for just over four years and was immediately followed by the worldwide pandemic known as the Spanish flu. It didn’t originate in Spain and was first identified in the United States in Kansas in March 1918. But neutral Spain wasn’t censuring the deadly effects of this virus, thus it was in their media unlike other countries who were still fighting and chose to keep it quiet so as not to further undermine morale.

The Belgium Olympics based in Antwerp began in April 1920 just as the fourth and final wave of the pandemic finished. The virus possibly killed 50 million but there are high estimates of up to 100 million. A third of the world’s population had been infected. It was to be another decade before anyone saw a virus down a microscope. To date, covid-19 has killed four million but hasn’t yet run its course.

Belgium had bid back in 1912 to host the 1920 games but the war got in the way of a decision.

Just after the Armistice in November 1918, the Olympic committee gave Belgium the option to host the games in the hope of bringing Belgium “a spirit of renewal”. Even though they had only just been liberated. Their country was trashed by the war as the Germans gave them hell and a lot of fighting was on their soil.

Despite this, in March 1919 they accepted the offer giving them just 18 months to prepare. And during that time, they, like everyone else, battled the pandemic.

As well as the virus, they had bad weather, needed to clear the rubble of the war, suffered economic woes and yet they still managed to run an event.

They didn’t quite get the new stadium finished and athletes slept on cots in military barracks.

There were no heated pools, so the swimmers competed in canals that were so cold that quite a few had to be rescued suffering from hypothermia.

Belgium was struggling to feed its own populace, so the athletes didn’t fare a lot better. Breakfast consisted of a roll, coffee and a single sardine. If you wanted anything else, you went out and bought it.

There will be no spectators at Tokyo this year and there were few at Antwerp, as most couldn’t afford the cost of tickets. In the final days, they opened the gates to school children, which was probably the only highlight of a very tough and brutal childhood.

Only 29 nations took part in these games.

Hungary, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were banned from competing in the games for starting the war.

Russia didn’t attend as they were busy trying to invade Poland, which failed, but 19 years later they were back. Poland wasn’t there either, as they were busy with the Russians.

New Zealand was present though, competing for the first time under its own name.

At two previous appearances, we had competed with Australia as Australasia.

We had just four competitors and they are the most successful team we have ever had. They all finished fifth or better in at least one of their events.

Violet Walrond at just 15 was the first woman to represent NZ and swam in two events coming 5th and 7th.

George Davidson came fifth in the 200m final and Harry Wilson was fourth in the 110m hurdles.

Darcy Hadfield competed in the single sculls and secured a bronze medal, which was the first under the NZ banner.

Paavo Nurmi from Finland is a name that we are still familiar with 100 years later. He became known as the Flying Finn. At these games he won three gold and a silver in middle and long-distance running. After two more Olympics, he ended up with nine gold and three silver medals, second equal on the all-time list.

Belgium managed to run the games under trying circumstances. They made huge losses at a time when they couldn’t afford it and have never offered to do it again.

Now, it’s Japan’s turn to host under difficult conditions.

Worst case scenario is that this becomes a virus super-spreader event.

But everything will be done to ensure this doesn’t happen.

How it all plays out will be as interesting as the events themselves.

HISTORY-MAKERS: New Zealand competed in the 1920 Olympics for the first time under its own name. Among those representing NZ were (backrow) chaperone Cecil “Tui” Walrond, Violet Walrond, George Davidson, (front) Harry Wilson and Darcy Hadfield. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The big picture on sheep

The Braided Trail

Keith Woodford

IN RECENT months, I have written four articles focusing on the sheep and beef industries across New Zealand. My main focus has been to identify the current situation and to document how the situation varies for different classes of land across the country. Here I return to the overall big question: what is the future of the sheep industry?

There are two parts to that question. The first is the market opportunities. The second is about competing land-uses.

Market opportunities

Apart from some dry hill and high country farms lying east of the South Island Main Divide, wool is largely irrelevant. Fine-woolled Merinos are big contributors on low-rainfall South Island farms and I expect that to continue. But elsewhere, wool no longer makes a worthwhile contribution to farm income. We can always live in hope, but that is not the basis on which to make land-use decisions.

I remain an optimist in regard to sheepmeat, but there is one big caveat. Without China, we would be in big trouble. If we cannot manage the China relationship, then it will be a disaster for sheep farmers.

According to MPI’s latest ‘State of Primary Industries (SOPI) report, 43% of export lamb income and 80% of mutton earnings in the 12 months ending March came from China. Quite simply, there are no alternative markets that could take that product.

Neither Europe nor the UK want more sheepmeat products from NZ. They will make sure that any free trade agreements (FTA) are not actually free when it comes to sheepmeat. North American lamb markets have been an industry project for the past 50 years and with considerable success, but further increases will only come slowly.

The biggest potential new markets are in the Middle East, with Iran the greatest potential prize. However, the Americans control the global financial system and none of our financial institutions wish to tangle with the Americans in relation to Iran. The financial risks of getting the money from Tehran to NZ, without the Americans grabbing it, are too great. So, as long as the Americans say ‘don’t go there’, we snap to attention.

Returning to China, there is a huge natural alignment between what we produce and what China wants. Ironically, some of the big users are Chinese Muslim communities, including ethnic minorities in the north and west. It is easy to forget that China has more than 25 million Muslims and they don’t eat pork.

But China does not have to purchase our sheepmeat. It will hurt us a lot more than it will hurt them should they close down the trade.

If we upset the Chinese sufficiently, then they will treat us like they are treating our Australian cousins across the ditch. I heard former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who himself speaks Mandarin and in an earlier life was a diplomat based in China, say recently that you can disagree with China but you do need to show respect in how you do it. I thought that summed up the situation rather nicely.

Accordingly, my optimism relies on the belief that we have some wise heads in our government when it comes to China. But it is a tricky game.

To those who say that we should never have developed the Chinese market for sheepmeat in the first place, I say that actually we didn’t. Rather, the Chinese came to us. For the past 10-12 years they have offered the best prices, particularly for mutton and the lamb forequarters.

I recall one meat company chief executive telling me some 10 years ago that his board put a limit on how much he could sell to China because of the risks of a concentrated market. A few months later he had to tell the board that unless they raised the limit, he could not be price competitive in purchasing livestock and the company would have to cease operating.

Forestry is going to be the big competing land-use

The price of carbon is rising and the carbon value of timber is closing in on $50 per tonne. Two years ago it was less than $25. Just a few weeks ago it was around $37. Yes, the world has changed.

Carbon markets are artificial markets controlled by governments. There lies the risk. However, it would be politically untenable for the Government to allow that market to crash. The big advantage of growing trees for carbon is that you don’t have to wait for the trees to grow and be harvested. The cash flows each year.

I expect we will see farmers increasingly planting pine forests on the steeper North Island hills. It’s simple economics. In the South Island, the plantings will be less but they will still occur. However, I would have considerable reservations if this should also occur on better country.

For those who think that lumber will always earn big dollars, I say, be wary! Right now, the majority of our logs end up in China where the main use is formwork, allowing concrete structures to be built. It won’t always be that way.

Accordingly, it is likely that new forestry is going to be more for carbon sequestration than lumber. That means it won’t be earning foreign exchange. That is a worry.

Most urban New Zealanders have yet to figure out that their lifestyles are dependent on the foreign exchange earned by primary industries. MPI has calculated that in this last year 83% of our merchandise export earnings came from primary industries. The sheep and beef industries alone earn about $10 billion of export income from meat plus byproducts such as skins, offal and wool.

That 83% figure is remarkable. The source is MPI. They also say in their SOPI report that it has been increasing each year for the past nine years. The agricultural sun does not want to set.

Sheep versus beef

This is another of those imponderables. However, it will be the market that will be the determining factor. The calculations are much easier and decisions are more revocable than for forestry. I expect most farmers will figure out as to what is best for their own situation. As with most other primary industry products, China is also our biggest beef destination. But the dominance is less than for sheep.

The big leverage for beef is the supply of unused bobby calves from the dairy industry. There are somewhere around two million calves each year that get killed at a few days of age. That is not going to be allowed to continue for much longer. It is all about getting the breeding sorted out for a dualpurpose industry.

Returning to the big picture

The tide is running against the sheep industry. This is ironic given that sheepmeat prices are excellent. But I have not given up on sheep. Particularly in the South Island, sheep will often still be the most logical choice. But overall, I see nothing that gives confidence that there will be any turnaround in sheep numbers.

That all leaves me a little sad. I think NZ still needs a vibrant sheep industry as one key part of our export-led economy. It can be an amazing meat. NZ could be the world-leading marketer of a niche product.

FUTURE: Keith Woodford delves into sheep’s place in a changing consumer and land-use landscape.

We can always live in hope, but that is not the basis on which to make land-use decisions.

Your View

Keith Woodford was Professor of farm management and agribusiness at Lincoln University for 15 years to 2015. He is now principal consultant at AgriFood Systems. He can be contacted at kbwoodford@gmail.com