May 06, 2018
Pressure on for less intense dairy
Maori farmers are looking at the land use changes that may be necessary as the Government cracks down on farming practices that are leading to high pollution levels.
On TV3’s Q&A programme yesterday Environment Minister David Parker said in some areas the number of cows per hectare is higher than the environment can sustain, and he’s looking to address that through nutrient limits.
There could also be support for technologies that will allow changes in land use to higher value cropping.
Lawyer Willie Te Aho says that discussion is already happening on some of the blocks he is involved with.
"Sometimes we’ve got to get real about that because at Pohara we're going from 425 cows down to 325 cows because we've made a cultural and environmental decision, not necessarily a commercial decision, that having less cows on the land is better for the land and better for the cows," he says.
Some of the land is being retired from dairy production and put into a mix of manuka and pines.
Copyright © 2018, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com