Welcome to the September 2019 edition of On-Stream
It's great to see the signs of spring everywhere and some warmer weather! This month, as well as a catch-up on what's happening in your area, there is both national and local consultation to check out. Don't miss the chance to find out about proposed changes from the Ministry for the Environment that might affect you if you are a farmer or grower. And if you're in the Manuherekia River area, we invite you to let us know what you love or value about it to help inform our full Water Plan review.
|
|
Ministry for the Environment's Action on Healthy Waterways On Thursday 5 September, Environment Minister David Parker released a package of Essential Freshwater policy proposals for consultation, with the aim to improve the health of New Zealand Aotearoa waterways. It is proposing new requirements that would:
- strengthen Te Mana o Te Wai as the framework for freshwater management
- better provide for ecosystem health (water, fish and plant life)
- better protect wetlands and estuaries
- better manage stormwater and wastewater, and protect sources of drinking water
- control high-risk farming activities and limit agricultural intensification
- improve farm management practices
Find out more and let them know what you think - consultation is officially open until 17 October, but submissions will be accepted up until 31 October. ORC is looking at sharing some information prior to making a submission which will be shared through our Rural Liaison Team – watch this space.
|
|
|
Manuherekia consultation
If you live in or near the Manuherekia (NB. ORC is using the Kai Tahu spelling) River catchment, we invite you to tell us what you value or love about the river. You can tell us online, at meetings on 26 and 27 September, by returning the tear-off slip in the brochure you'll receive in the post if you live in the area, or by emailing us. Find out more here. |
|
|
| Updates from your Rural Liaison Team |
|
|
Spring has sprung! It’s a busy time of year on the farm and there's a lot happening off the farm too. As noted above, the Ministry for the Environment is consulting on their Action for Healthy Waterways proposal. As this proposal could affect the way you farm into the future, it's important to have a read, engage with your farming industry groups or catchment group and have your say.
B+LNZ have an environmental issues roadshow coming to Lawrence on 25 September. This is a good opportunity to hear more about the major environmental issues and policies facing the sector, such as climate change, freshwater and biodiversity, and help farmers understand what they can do in response and how to participate in these consultations.
It's great to see opportunities to get involved in discussing solutions too – the Ag@Otago Symposium "New Zealand Agriculture in 2050: Pathways of Innovation" is at Otago University on 8-9 December and one of the key themes is sustainable food production. The symposium is all about getting farmers engaged in the discussion and it would be great to see you there. Find out more
|
|
|
Know your soils
The Essential Freshwater discussion document released by the Ministry for the Environment includes reference to protecting your soils. Please be aware that you can no longer obtain information about soil from what was ORC's "Grow Otago" website. This information has been merged into the national S Maps site that is managed by Landcare Research, which provides consistency of quality information across the country.
Step-by-step to finding soil information in Otago:
- Google ‘S maps’ and Select ‘S-Map Online:Home’
- Register a username and password and log in
- Click on Maps (top left-hand corner) and enter your district or location
- Zoom in on the map until you see your farm and soil names
- Click on 'Factsheets'
- Input Region (Otago) and the symbol of soil type from the map
- Click on the S-Map name and align with soil series name with respect to terrain
- Select and print off your selected factsheet.
You can print off as many factsheets as you like and they are free of charge.
|
|
|
We know that what happens on the land influences our freshwater, which in turn influences our estuaries and the wider coastal environment. In Otago there's an increasing awareness of this issue, and numerous "citizen science" projects are underway with a focus on water quality and ecology of freshwater environments, which is great to see!
If you want to learn more about the connection with coastal environments there's an opportunity to participate in a Marine BioBlitz. This is being facilitated by the University of Otago Marine Studies Centre on 29 September in Karitane from 10am-4pm. Please email Cathy for more information or to register.
The BioBlitz provides an opportunity for you to familiarise yourself with tools for monitoring marine environment change, such as iNaturalist, Seek app, photo points, and marine metre squared techniques. These tools can also be adapted for freshwater monitoring.
ORC's ECO Fund has supported the BioBlitz in 2018 and 2019. Find out more about the ECO Fund and how it might be able to assist you or your community group. The next funding round opens on 1 October.
And lastly, MPI are hosting a One Billion Trees workshop in Milton on 3 October which is open to landowners and rural professionals.
|
|
Well, spring was welcomed in with a bit of rain, but it is still looking a bit dry around the region. With that in mind and the upcoming resumption of irrigation, here are a few things to think of:
- Check infrastructure before starting up for the season, in particular pivot gear boxes (moisture), electrical terminals (tightness) and valve condition (gaskets, on/off working and position)
- Confirm system performance, particularly application rates (bucket test)
- Assess soil moisture requirements before irrigating
Remember that much of your on-farm infrastructure will have drained over the winter months so please fill your pipelines and irrigators SLOWLY.
Other things on the go: I’m working with the North Otago Dairy Working Group to identify opportunities to work with milk supply companies (Fonterra and Oceania) and irrigation companies (LWIC and NOIC), alongside Dairy NZ and Federated Farmers around on-farm effluent issues, particularly storage. If you would like to know more, give me a call or drop me an email. |
|
|
|
|
Pest Plan update
We are getting close to the final stages for a new Regional Pest Management Plan and Biosecurity Strategy for Otago. After hearings in Dunedin and Queenstown in June this year, the Hearing Panel and our team have been hard at work. The Panel’s recommendations will be brought to an ORC Council meeting on 25 September 2019. Click here for more information on the recommendations and next steps. |
|
|
Coming soon!
We know you want to quickly and easily find information about water on our website. To make it easier, we’re building a Good Water in Otago site that will help you find what you need to know faster. Look out for the launch of the site soon! |
|
|
B+LNZ meetings
This week Beef + Lamb are hosting meetings in Otago where their policy staff will go through the recent Government announcements on carbon and freshwater and what they could mean for farmers. They will be in Lawrence on 25 September, and Gore on 26 September. Find out more and register by email |
|
|
What's coming up?
26-27 September - Manuherekia values consultation meetings.
12 October 2019 - ORC Election Day (voting closes at 12 noon). Read more.
For a full list of ORC meetings click here. |
|
|
Feel free to forward this email to anyone who might like to read it. If you have been forwarded this email and would like to subscribe, please email us at water@orc.govt.nz.
|
|
|
|
