On-Stream
We've almost finished crunching the data following the July floods. Reviews like this take time because flood response is much wider than the operational response on the day. As a comparison, the review of the Edgecumbe floods took about six months.
As soon as the final analysis has been completed by staff and we've presented the report to Council, we'll hold some community meetings to share the information with you. One of the things we're analysing is the weather report versus how it played out. Thanks for your patience while we complete the process.
Dairy inspections were put on hold so farmers could concentrate on the flood clean-up, but they'll start in November, beginning with areas that weren't affected by the floods. The biggest issues we had with non-compliance last season related to either ponding, or irrigating on saturated soils. See the feature article below for some good management practice to avoid this.
We hope you enjoy the long weekend,
The ORC team
|
|
|
Feature: Effluent - good management practice
|
|
|
Effluent is toxic to aquatic life. This is why it’s important to make sure animal waste stays on the land and doesn’t leach or runoff into waterways.
What can you do to manage effluent?
- Make sure you have enough storage. Use the DairyNZ calculator to find out how much effluent storage you need for your operation.
- Reduce the amount of effluent going into your pond. Use roof water diversion and efficient wash-down methods and systems to reduce the amount of effluent you have to store and manage.
- Manage your effluent application to land:
- Irrigate only when the soil needs it (check your soil moisture levels first)
- Do not irrigate over surface water, e.g. rain water
- Apply it at a low rate so the soil can absorb it without ponding or leaching
- Stop application when your soil levels are at capacity
- Do not apply effluent within 50 meters of a stream, river, lake or wetland.
- Regularly check, maintain and service your effluent system, including the pumps to the effluent pond. Make a record of what you do and how often you do it.
- Install a fail-safe. Getting an alert if something goes wrong will help you avoid incidents.
- Make sure the effluent pond isn’t siphoning. Get an anti-siphon device.
- Train staff. Any effluent application system is only as good as the person using it. Make sure all staff on the farm know the process and protocol to follow if they notice problems.
- Know where your tile drains are (we recommend you map them) and do not irrigate over them.
- Document the effluent management and application plan.
- Don't rely on technology. Get out in the paddock and check the irrigator before, during and after irrigation.
This is what we want to avoid!
|
|
| Updates from your liaison specialists |
|
|
Bruce Monaghan - Central Otago
|
|
|
|
Bruce is still on an overseas jaunt and will be back later this month, so if you have any queries in the Central Otago area please call Nicole Foote on 0800 474 082.
|
|
|
There have been a few highlights this month that I'd like to share with you.
Every year ORC holds a Maritime NZ oil spill training exercise. This year we were given the scenario of a ship docking at the Fryatt Street wharf in Dunedin, and a spill happening while refueling. I was part of the on-the-ground response team, firstly deploying the rapid response boom and then the harbour boom, followed by setting up equipment for the recovery. It was a great day spent with colleagues from other teams at ORC.
A colleague and I spent a day working alongside the River Estuary Care: Karitane-Waikouaiti group, planting alongside the Waikouaiti River. If you ever need an extra set of hands for events like this please let me know as I'm keen to help out.
Last week I went to the New Zealand Association of Resource Management conference, where we had one day of guest speakers and two days touring Southland. It was awesome to see some standout farming enterprises and some passionate and forward-thinking land owners.
The conference was mostly comprised of professional land managers but there were a handful of farmers from around the country. I recommend going to the next one if you get the chance, especially if you're interested in hearing about the challenges and possible solutions to problems currently faced with resources, and also if you like to get on the land and hear some great farming stories.
|
|
|
The warm sunny weather has been great for lambing down here so far, and quite a few farmers have been able to crack into their tractor work already.
Lately I've been out and about in the Tuapeka catchment discussing willow management and also on farm looking at fencing waterways.
Along with Nicole, I went to the New Zealand Resource Management Conference, which was hosted by Environment Southland this year. This was an awesome opportunity to see what’s happening in Southland and meet representatives from other councils around New Zealand.
A couple of speakers and themes resonated with me, particularly the ideas around diversification of land use and the ideas around adding value to our products from New Zealand. This came up at Simon and Annabel Saunders farm visit at Stag Valley and their Te Mana Lamb product that has higher Omega-3 in the intramuscular fat: https://temanalamb.com/our-story/
The presentation from Dr Caroline Saunders from Lincoln University on maximising export returns was also excellent. More information and some research reports can be found at: http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/Research/Research-Centres/Agribusiness-and-Economics-Research-Unit/MER/.
|
|
|
The whitebait are running! Nah, not quite (and I wouldn’t tell you if they were anyway), but after a slow start to the season the wee wriggly ones are showing up in decent numbers of late – as are the white baiters. It is good to see, and kudos must go to the landowners in the lower reaches of our rivers who take particular care to protect the river banks from grazing and erosion. That long grass hanging down into the water provides perfect habitat for whitebait to breed.
My thanks to the North Otago Irrigation Company (NOIC) for inviting me to speak to a group of new farm managers who were going through NOIC’s environmental training recently. A show of hands in the audience showed that there were at least six brand new Otago-ites (i.e. they’d come from a different region of New Zealand) operating on the land in North Otago this season, so it was great to let them know how we do things in Otago – and that we value their efforts in keeping our water clean. At ORC we are always looking for new opportunities to get the Good Water Quality in Otago message out there so don’t hesitate to sing out if you want me to come to one of your meetings.
If you farm in North Otago and haven’t already signed up to the NOSLaM (North Otago Sustainable Land Management Society) project, get cracking! I encourage all Kakanui landowners to get involved in NOSLaM, as they are there to help and support you to make good decisions around your farm for the betterment of our waterways. I have the good oil that they’re planning a field day soon that will be a must-see for North Otago farmers. Contact Rob McTague at noslamoffice@gmail.com or 021 194 9597.
|
|
|
|
|
Timber!
New national environmental standards for plantation forestry will affect you if you have forestry blocks on your land. They come into play in May next year and will standardise forestry activities across NZ. We'll give you more information soon.
|
|
|
Keen to find out how your farm stacks up?
Entries for the Ballance Farm Enviroment Awards close at the end of this month. You still have time to enter so click here to find out more.
|
|
|
What's coming up?
- 31 October, Pest Management and Biodiversity forum
A workshop to develop the regional Pest Management Plan review and biodiversity strategy. Invite only but we'll be asking for public feedback in November so keep an eye on our website.
- Early November, Pest management drop-in sessions around Otago
Public meetings to get community feedback about the above
- November (dates TBC), Managing water in the Clutha River, and Lakes Dunstan, Roxburgh, Hawea, Wakatipu and Wanaka
- November (date TBC), Waiwera water quality report presented to the community |
|
|
| The spring issue of ORC's newsletter 'Waterlines' is out now. You can read it here. |
|
| If you know someone who should subscribe to On-Stream, forward this email to them and suggest they email us at water@orc.govt.nz to subscribe. |
|
| Make sure you like the 'Good Water in Otago - ORC' Facebook page - click the Facebook link below. |
|
|
|
