Farmers fear reducing livestock numbers is the only way to meet environmental standards

A Taranaki farmer fears he will have to cut back on his livestock numbers to meet increasingly stringent environmental standards.

The dairy farmer, who RNZ has agreed not to identify, was attending a rally at the Taranaki Regional Council to discuss Get public feedback on the objectives of the new Taranaki Land and Freshwater Plan.

At the event, people can get information and voice their opinions on topics such as E. coli levels in the region’s rivers and streams, animal waste systems, water allocation, sediment loads, stormwater and wastewater discharges, and fish passages.

A more stark message from the Inglewood event was that E. coli loads would need to be reduced by an average of 50% to meet the draft freshwater environmental outcomes, and in some cases by 80%.

The farmer, who owns two dairy properties, said he was unsure what more people in the industry could do.

“I don’t have an answer for that because we’ve spent a long time working on the riverbanks and all that stuff, fencing off the waterways. We have dual permits (to discharge into land and water), and we irrigate when we can.

“We’ve been trying for a long time. We’ve been planting and everything is fenced in, so I don’t know what the next step is. Maybe with fewer cows on the land, that could be the next step.”

He said most farmers were in favor of making changes and did not want to see a return to past practices.

“I know when I was a kid the sewage went straight into the river and the water was green when the cows were milking, and that’s gone now. I’m going to go back and see it … that was 45 years ago.”

Mark Duynhoven, a dairy farmer in the village of Egmont, believes that current agricultural production methods are more environmentally friendly than before.

“I think the situation is improving, with more people switching from discharging into the water to discharging onto the land, and more riparian vegetation being planted.

“Where we are right now, we’ve probably got 5,000 riparian plants planted, we’re using slow-release phosphorus fertiliser, we’ve probably reduced our nitrogen fertiliser by two-thirds, and our stocking rates are probably lower than they were five years ago.”

Duynhoven is concerned about the proposal to hire outside experts to assess the sewer system.

“My biggest concern is being forced to use consultants. When consultants need to be used, they usually charge high fees which only add to the cost of our business with no real benefit.

“We have an annual inspection by Taranaki Regional Council inspectors, so it’s easy to see if your cesspool is leaking.”

Photographer Tony Green, who has done extensive work for environmental groups, believes water quality issues are not unique to farmers.

“There are whitetails in the Waiwhakaiho River. There are also whitetails at the entrance to Lake Mangamahoe, but not below Lake Mangamahoe.

“How many farms are located below Lake Mangamahoe in terms of water? Not many. There are a lot of places where dogs can roam free, go in the water freely, urinate and defecate freely, and people can go in there too.”

Green said bird populations along the national park’s borders have become more abundant thanks to farmers’ hard work.

Janice and Rex Carroll run 400 dairy cows on Taranaki’s Upper Ring Plains.

Janice Carroll thought the pop-up event was a great idea.

“We have to pay more and more attention to these things, but I think awareness has grown in other parts of the country, too, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing to try to be good stewards of your own land.”

Rex Carroll said agricultural practices have improved.

“I used to milk my neighbor, who had a much bigger herd. He would finish milking before I did and flush the yard water straight into the river. When I used to fill the water heater, the water would be green every night because it was just a matter of time, so now it’s changed dramatically and it’s getting better.”

He installed a water treatment plant about 25 years ago.

“We had the water tested for E. coli and it came back clean, so we treated it. I’m curious to see how our neighbors are doing because we often have staph in our herd.”

Taranaki Regional Council operations director Daniel Harrison said it wanted to understand what the public expected of the province from an environmental perspective.

“What kind of biodiversity, water quality and habitat do they want in our rivers.”

Harrison said E. coli is an indicator pathogen for other bacteria in the water that could affect human health, the health of waterways and the health of organisms in waterways and animals such as cattle, dogs or birds.

“So the science is telling us that there are levels that are not where we want them to be to ensure the health of the community and especially the people. The key is looking at what the contamination is that is getting the E. coli into the waterways and what we can do about it, so maybe we are discharging sewage onto land instead of directly into the waterways so that it can filter.”

Harrison said that overall, most people support improving the environment, and consumers around the world are now demanding higher levels of environmental protection.

“If we want to continue to sell our products to other countries around the world then we need to meet these standards.”

He said the committee had been working with landowners for more than 30 years and had achieved a lot.

“We have a world-class riparian program, a world-class mountain program, and our pest control program is world-class.

“Most of the costs are covered by the landowners and farmers. They do the work themselves and pay for it themselves. We want to continue that relationship, we want to continue working with the landowners to take it to the next level.”

Harrison said feedback from farmers has been mostly positive.

“They sometimes see it as another thing to do or another cost, but as long as we manage it in a way that is appropriate, affordable, realistic and feasible – which is how we want to work – then it’s not a big problem and most people have realised that.”