Dairy News august 13, 2013
news // 17
Rotorua N limits come closer andrew swallow andrews@ruralnews.co.nz
DAIRY FARMERS
in the Lake Rotorua catchment will have to make sweeping system changes, if not relocate, to meet nitrogen limits set by the regional council, says a farmers’ representative at the heart of the negotiations. Bay of Plenty Regional Council last week announced a catchment nitrogen limit of 435t/year, which, it says, will require a 270t cut in losses from pastoral land.
five years. A lot of work has been done already with feed pads, effluent systems and detention dams going in, but for the 20 or more dairy farms in the catchment, whole management system changes will be needed to reach the target, he says. What form those changes will take is “anyone’s guess” at this stage but herd homes and/or reduced stocking rates are among the possibilities. “It may even be that, to an extent, we see farmers exiting the catchment.”
“It will be important for land owners to start planning as soon as possible what they need to do to meet their individual targets.” While the limit is what was agreed by the stakeholders group, former Federated Farmers provincial president Neil Heather says questions about it still remain, especially as lake water quality, as measured by a trophic index, is already ahead of a target set for 2032. “Why is the modelling so wrong? Originally they said it would get worse before it got better but it’s not done that, and we’ve not got an explanation yet.” Alum-dosing of streams to remove phosphate entering the lake has probably helped but the improving trend started before that temporary solution was initiated, he points out. Also, if there was a summer when water would stratify and quality problems arise, last summer was it, with many hot, windless days; but it didn’t happen. He also questions the council’s focus on nitrogen when phosphate is understood to be the main problem. All farmers will have to change their ways to achieve the 270t nitrogen cut, 70% of which is to be met in 10 years, with a review of the targets in
Bay of Plenty Regional Council says nitrogen enters the lake from a range of sources, including agricultural activities, urban wastewater, forests and rain. To reach the sustainable nitrogen limit a reduction of 320 tonnes is needed, of which it estimates 50 tonnes can be reduced through in-lake initiatives, leaving 270t “to be achieved through reducing nitrogen from pastoral land use”. Council general manager natural resource operations, Warwick Murray, says the proposed regional policy statement would set rules to allocate nitrogen to land uses to “ensure” catchment limits are met. “An incentive scheme will also be designed to help reduce the impact of the rules and help landowners to make the necessary changes to their operations.” The first step is to determine how to allocate loss limits to land uses in the catchment, he says. Council staff have met the lake stakeholder advisory group monthly since September to develop the rules and incentives. The advisory group includes representatives
from the Lake Rotorua Primary Producers Collective, Lakes Water Quality Society, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Rotorua District Council, Te Arawa Lakes Trust,
Office of the Maori Trustee, forestry sector, Te Arawa landowners and small-block owners. Dairy farmers in Lake Rotorua catchment face new environmental legislation.
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