Media release from North Canterbury Fish & Game

Urgent need for tighter controls on dairy growth - North Canterbury Fish & Game

North Canterbury Fish & Game says the release of yesterday’s Parliamentary Commission for the Environment’s (PCE) report signals the need for tighter controls on the number of dairy farms in the region.

“New Zealand has to get its head around the fact we may reach a ceiling where there cannot be any more dairy farms in certain areas, that’s if we want to live in a half decent environment ” says Scott Pearson, North Canterbury Fish & Game’s environmental advisor.

More agricultural nutrients entering waterways means more algal blooms and slime growth, as well as reduced aquatic insect life to provide food for birds and fish, and waterways that aren’t fit for swimming or fishing. In some areas of New Zealand nitrates from intensive agricultural are in such high concentrations they pose a human health risk.

Federated Farmers have already conceded in the media that, ultimately dairying in Canterbury may have to be undertaken on concrete, as the only way of fully protecting the environment from excessive nitrate and phosphorus pollution.

“The fact of the matter is, the PCE has exploded those often touted myths with this thorough report and it’s long overdue for Federated Farmers and the dairy sector to accept that there are limits to how far and how fast the industry can grow.”

Mr Pearson also points out smarter farming is the best way forward for Canterbury noting that there is a growing body of work to show that less intensive dairy systems can be just as profitable, if not more so, than the high intensity model being pushed by the dairy companies.

“The PCE report identifies Canterbury as clearly having the most rapid increase in nitrogen load per year, as more land is intensified for dairy expansion and from the evidence we have seen this modelling and the obvious trends it shows, is right on the ball.”

ENDS

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