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Welcome to the June 2019 edition of On-Stream

It's definitely getting wintery out there! This month get some ideas about strategic winter grazing, an update on Overseer and a heads-up about events you might want to attend. We're also very pleased to introduce Jason Evered, who is the new ORC rural liaison contact in North Otago. 
A big thank you to everyone who came along to the Arrow and Cardrona consultation sessions last month (pictures below). We were really pleased with the turnout and the positive way people shared their current values and future aspirations for these river catchments.

We're aiming to have meetings in August to get your feedback on a range of scenarios for future river management in these areas - keep an eye out for details via email.
 
Watch Beef + Lamb NZ's video about strategic grazing of winter crops

West Otago farmer Simon O'Meara shares his tips about strategic grazing of winter crops to help reduce sediment and nutrient loss into waterways:
 
Updates from your Rural Liaison Team 
Bruce Monaghan – Central Otago

bruce.monaghan@orc.govt.nz
027 480 7944
 

On 28 June I’ll be at the Beef+Lamb NZ Land Environment Planning Workshop (Level 2) in Cromwell, which builds on land and environmental issues covered in Level 1. The Level 2 workshop includes identifying Land Management Units, which are used as a basis for nutrient budgeting.

I’ll then explain how this ties in with the nitrogen (N) leaching rule in the Otago Regional Plan: Water, which takes full effect from 1st April 2020. We'll also discuss the actions you should be carrying out now with respect to data requirement for Overseer, which is the tool used to determine N leaching on a property basis.

Other topics will include: 

  • What is a river?
  • Working in waterways – when you need to apply for a consent, what is considered a permitted activity, and when you can carry out work without a consent. 
  • Future plan changes – farm managers regularly ask if ORC is looking to change any of the water plan rules. We're beginning a staged review of the water plan to make sure it's in line with the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, and aim to have the new plan notified in 2025.  
 
Rebecca Begg – South Otago

rebecca.begg@orc.govt.nz 
027 232 0735

It's that time of the year when we're settling into winter feeding routines on the farm and the number of events and field days have dropped off. It was great to see so many folk out and about at the B+LNZ field day at Telford at the start of this month and I hope you all took something away from the winter grazing presentations. 

Hopefully you are aware that Overseer Ltd have recently launched new software called OverseerFM for use in nutrient modelling on farms. The new software is designed to be easier and more intuitive to use, and can support farm management decisions. You should also be aware that the legacy version of Overseer expires on 30 June 2019 and from this date you will no longer be able to use the old version to access previous files. If you have files stored in your online account and want to keep them, you need to download them to your computer, and they can then be transferred to your OverseerFM account. OverseerFM is available under subscription for $200 plus GST per year per farm account and you can find more information here. 

Also, save the date for the Women’s Enviro Evening on 30 July in Clinton. There's a great line up of speakers and it should be an awesome night out.
 
Nicole Foote – Strath Taieri & Central Coast Otago

nicole.foote@orc.govt.nz
027 564 7788

B+LNZ, together with local land owners and the Waihemo community, are starting up a catchment group. The intent is to create an umbrella group under which the Shag, Pleasant and Waikouaiti catchments will fit. There are more meetings coming up in the next few weeks to plan and iron out the details (keep an eye on the B+LNZ events page or let me know if you're interested in hearing more).

In the meantime, if you haven’t already, it might be a good time to check out the River Management Strategy for the Shag/Waihemo catchment. This will be of most interest to the landowners adjacent to the river, but also community members. This document gets reviewed regularly and is used by ORC to manage the river and its corridor.
 
Jason Evered – North Otago
Jason.Evered@orc.govt.nz
0272983460
At the time of writing I’m just finishing my second week and it’s been a busy and enjoyable start. A big thank you to North Otago Sustainable Land Management (NOSLaM), who, in the first week, invited me to help with a great community planting project in Kakanui. Also, just prior to me starting, they hosted a great winter-cropping-focussed meeting in Weston. The informative presentations covered compliance obligations, animal welfare, nutrient management and soil management. I found the links between the presentations great and the idea that good practice in one area leads to multiple positives in other areas on farm.

So, what’s next? Working with industry and the community to establish a significant catchment group in the Shag area. A constructive meeting was recently held in Palmerston led by B+LNZ, and several people put their hand up to go out and encourage neighbours and friends to come and find out more about the benefits of being part of a catchment group.

In closing, no longer will this section have a silhouette of an unknown person – I’m here and ready to hear from you. It would be great to fill this section with good news stories from the North Otago region and I look forward to meeting you all soon. 
 
 
 
 
In Brief
Pest Plan Hearings
Thank you to everyone who came along to our Dunedin and Queenstown hearings on the proposed Regional Pest Management Plan and Biosecurity Strategy. It’s always great to get your feedback. To keep up to date with the process go to yoursay.orc.govt.nz/hearings
 


What's coming up?


30 July - Women's Enviro Evening in Clinton. 
 

For a full list of ORC meetings click here.
 
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