ENVIRONMENT WATER QUALITY
Taking a lead on water quality Manawatu dairy farmer Christine Finnigan started the Nguturoa Catchment group and now has a strong team of farmers working together for water quality. Jackie Harrigan went along to the catchment field day.
C
hristine Finnigan floated the idea of a catchment care group three times at her local DairyNZ discussion group before the Manawatu dairy farmer decided to just start it herself. Now the Nguturoa Catchment group has a thriving group of dairy, sheep and cattle farmers, lifestyle block owners and others on the Nguturoa catchment that runs off the ranges behind Linton and joins into the Tokomaru river before meandering down to the Manawatu River. Now their SUB project - ‘Seeing, Understanding and Believing’ sets out to measure trends in the ecological health, nutrient levels and sediment status of the Nguturoa stream, directly linked to waterways draining from critical source areas on the farms and other properties. Christine and two other landowners have developed farm plans to show how they are contributing to improving the waterways in the catchment as part of their farming business.
FINNIGAN FARMS
Christine Finnigan farms 160ha at the foot of the Tararua Ranges in a family 66
partnership with son James and daughterin-law Hanna. They purchased the farm five years ago as part of their succession plan and farm a high breeding worth (BW) Jersey herd at a System 3-4 level milking once-a-day (OAD). While the family can run 2.6 cows/ha on the farm, Christine says the Tokomaru silt loam is a poorly draining soil type not suited to horticulture and best suited to pastoral farming. “We have to make the best of the land and the best use is pastoral farming.” Their goals focus around profitability and debt reduction, developing the farm infrastructure (fencing, drainage, water and effluent system upgrades), and preserving and enhancing the natural features of the farm (bush remnants, streams) along with family/hobby time. The farm has an effective area of 140ha of which 56ha is rolling country with 7ha with slopes over 20%. The pastures are mainly ryegrass and clover. Effluent is stored in a pond with a capacity of 2000m3 and is sprayed regularly on the effluent block. Waterways are all fenced and almost all races and culverts divert stormwater through the
pasture. Fertiliser is applied in autumn, 400kg/ha of 15% potassic superphosphate onto the milking platform and a blend with extra potash onto the runoff. During spring about 40kgN/ha is applied following each rotation by the cows and in autumn dressings of 40kgN/ha go on each month, contributing to a nitrogen surplus of 114kgN/ha. The Linton farm has natural features that Christine and the family were keen to preserve; like the lovely stand of native
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | July 2021
