Southern dairy farmers are being reminded to incorporate best practices to safeguard water quality and stock transport safety when the annual stock Moving Day begins this weekend on Sunday, 1 June.

Moving Day continues for several weeks after 1 June, a tradition where dairy farmers move their cows between farm properties around Otago, either herded along roads or more often by stock truck transit.

Otago Regional Council’s Manager Environmental Implementation Libby Caldwell says effluent from stock trucks can put road users and adjacent waterways at risk.

She emphasised farmers should stand off their animals, for at least 4 to 12 hours, before transporting them.

“The focus is on farmers’ standing their stock the day before moving, and for the trucking companies to then make use of the roadside effluent disposal sites around Otago,” Mrs Caldwell says.

Effluent can get onto roads and become a safety hazard for other drivers and can also run off into roadside drains or pollute adjacent waterways, she says.

The ORC and several local authorities now operate nine roadside effluent disposal sites across Otago, with six disposal sites on State Highway 1 between Pukeuri and Clinton, and three on inland highways, at Raes Junction, Brassknocker Rd and Tarras.

Roadside stock effluent disposal sites around Otago

Farmers walking their herd along a road should keep them away from roadside drains and channels, and avoid disturbed soil, to stop effluent entering adjacent waterways.

Standing off green feed

Cows should be stood off green feed for at least four hours, but no more than 12 hours, before they are loaded onto trucks, which helps reduce the amount of effluent on trucks.

For welfare reasons, DairyNZ also recommends that a grazed-out paddock or stand-off pads are better options for standing stock, than a concrete surface, as the latter can contribute to tender feet and are not good for stock to lie down on.

For general enquiries, contact the ORC’s Environmental Implementation Team Catchment Advisors on 0800 474 082, or email them at catchments@orc.govt.nz.

Please report any stock truck effluent spills into waterways to the ORC’s Pollution Hotline on 0800 800 033

See stock truck effluent at DairyNZ's online information on Moving Day.

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