ENVIRONMENT CLEAR WATER
In action for the springs Words by: Anne Hardie
W
hen you farm within the catchment of the Te Waikoropupu Springs in Golden Bay, your environmental impact comes under particularly close scrutiny because the water is possibly New Zealand’s clearest and cleanest. Steven and Daphne Woods own one of 14 dairy farms in the catchment, milking 450 crossbred cows on 174 effective hectares and they already meet the criteria for the Government’s new freshwater regulations. They farm in a high-rainfall region that can reach three metres a year, with 60mm in one rain event common. The last thing they want is heavy rain flushing nitrogen through the soil into the aquifer that feeds the springs. 56
To ensure that doesn’t happen, they apply nitrogen only when there’s a 14-day period without rain in the weather forecast and then water it in under controlled irrigation from their pivot irrigators. They restrict their nitrogen use to 160kg N/ha/ year, using coated N-Protect for the added advantage of staying longer in the soil for the plant’s uptake so they can use less N overall. It’s just one of the methods they use to protect their environment which in this case is the largest cold-water springs in the Southern Hemisphere. Concerns about the underground aquifer system that sustains the springs led to a proposed Water Conservation Order that is now going to the Environment Court. That could make many dairy farmers nervous, but the Woods have confidence in the Environment Court and the research that
shows any increased N levels over the decades are not statistically significant. Dairy farming has been under attack during the springs debate and the Woods became entangled in its heat when they sought to continue irrigating the farm with their brand new pivot irrigators a few years ago. It was only after they bought the pivots – two 360 degree pivots with arms and a 180 degree one – that they discovered the local council had inadvertently slashed their water consent years earlier through a misunderstanding and the family didn’t know. It took a four-year battle and cost them an estimated $700,000 in lost income, plus the extra costs of running a dry-farm operation on river gravels. Bought-in balage to replace grass “cost a fortune” but was the only way to keep the cows milking through those stressful years. The
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | December 2020
