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+64 7 839 7966
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www.
waikatoriver
.org.nz
THE DAIRYNZ LED PROJECT TO IMPLEMENT
SUSTAINABLE MILK PLANS FOR DAIRY FARMS IN
THE UPPER WAIKATO CATCHMENT IS SHOWING
ENCOURAGING RESULTS.
The project, which received major funding from the Waikato River
Authority ($685,000), aims to improve environmental practice on
farms to ultimately improve the health of the Waikato River.
This is a 3-year project which began in June 2012.
To date there have been 650 dairy farms which have agreed to take
part in the project which involves one-on-one advice and support
via the development of a farm specific plan around nutrient and
water management. So far 570 plans have been delivered.
DairyNZ has analysis from 436 farms that has resulted in 3610
individual on-farm actions to support more sustainable farming
operations. The analysis has shown an encouraging reduction in
the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous being lost from farms and
potentially entering waterways.
Below is a graph of reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus loss on the
first 436 farms of the SMP process.
Environment Policy Manager for DairyNZ, Dr Mike Scarsbrook
says there are a number of very positive signals coming from the
preliminary analysis of actions.
“Farmers are increasing their understanding of the environmental
effects of farming activities, at the same time as setting out specific
actions for improving performance.”
The Upper Waikato sustainable milk project is the largest environmental
good-practice catchment project ever undertaken by the New Zealand
dairy industry. The project is funded by DairyNZ, the government’s
Primary Growth Partnership and the Waikato River Authority.
50
40
30
20
10
0
% of farms
% nutrient reduction
No
change
1-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69
N P
Milk plans produce
nutrient reduction
Online process
to be extended
Work is currently underway
to extend the Waikato River
Authority on-line funding
application process to
include on-line reporting
and monitoring of
successful projects.
Authority chief executive Bob
Penter says the web-based
application system has worked
well in its first year, helping to
capture essential information
in one place.
“We are now looking forward
to enabling successful project
managers to be able to report
their progress on-line which
will ensure a more efficient
and effective monitoring
process.”
November AGM
for Authority
The Waikato River Authority is
expecting to hold its Annual
General Meeting in November
this year.
The time and date, once
confirmed, will be advertised
in the Waikato Times
and publicised on www.
waikatoriver.org.nz
