Selwyn Times: February 28, 2017

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday February 28 2017 25
SELWYN RURAL LIFE
New tool approved
for estimating
nitrogen losses
N Check, a new electronic tool for
arable and horticulture farmers, has been
approved for use in the Selwyn Te Waihora
catchment. It provides an alternative to
OVERSEER® for estimating farm nitrogen
losses. It is free, quick and easy to use.
NCheck will be available for an interim
period of up to five years while the crop
module in OVERSEER® is being updated.
In the meantime, it is important for
farmers to keep their farm data from 2009-
2013 as they will eventually require this to
develop an OVERSEER® nitrogen baseline.
How does NCheck work?
NCheck was designed to enable farmers
to access their own N-loss numbers. The
tool uses the farm address to access the soil
and climate information for the farm and
then leads the farmer through a short set
of questions about the farm system and its
management. It then uses this information
to estimate a nitrogen loss for the farm.
This number is the Nitrogen Loss Estimate
for the farm. N-Check assumes that the
farmer is applying good management
practices (GMPs).
In the background, the tool is accessing
an extensive set of OVERSEER® results,
generated for Environment Canterbury’s
Matrix of Good Management (MGM)
project via a set of answers. It is drawing
on less farm information than a full
OVERSEER® budget, so the N-Loss
estimate it produces could be less accurate
than the OVERSEER estimates.
At the end of the process an NCheck
report is available. This can be printed off
and filed with the farmer’s consent, if one is
required, and the farm environment plan.
NCheck can be used by all farmers in
Selwyn Te Waihora to determine their
nitrogen loss number and based on this,
whether or not a consent is required.
Additionally NCheck can be used for
two types of farms in Selwyn Te Waihora
in the consent process and during on-farm
audits. These are:
Arable and horticultural farmers with
cropping rotations on more than 50 per
cent of the property or intensive vegetable
rotations for more than 80 per cent of the
time.
Low leaching/lifestyle farming activities
where nitrogen losses do not exceed 15
KgN/ha/year.
Finding and using NCheck
NCheck can be accessed on Environment
Canterbury’s website: Once you have
found the tool, follow the instructions to
register yourself as a user.
Guidelines for using NCheck are
available on the same page of the website.
Selwyn Te Waihora Land Management
staff have scheduled a series of dropin
sessions where they will be able to
demonstrate NCheck, and FAR is planning
to run consent-development workshops in
the autumn.
NCheck will be available for up to
five years while the cropping module of
OVERSEER® is being updated. Consents
issued based on NCheck Nutrient Loss
Reports will expire in 2022 and those
who have used NCheck for consents this
year, will need to reapply at that stage with
OVERSEER® data.
Farmers may still choose to use
OVERSEER® data for the current
consenting process.
If you are part of an irrigation scheme,
you may still need to use OVERSEER®.
Check with your scheme.
If a significant large part of your farm
business relies on intensive, winter
dairy grazing you should prepare an
OVERSEER® budget.
If you wish to explore different nitrogen
mitigations or land use scenarios
OVERSEER® will be the better option.
To date, NCheck has been only been
approved for use in the Selwyn Te Waihora
Zone, however, there is a strong potential
to use it in other Canterbury catchments
to help with the consenting process.
Approval in these zones will depend on
representation from the zone committee to
Environment Canterbury. A stronger case
can be made if farmers support their zone
committees with an application. Farmers
are urged to do this.
Selwyn Auto
ALL YOUR MOTORING NEEDS
› WOF’s › Diagnostics › Repairs
› Servicing › Batteries › Tyres
› Motorbike WOF’s & Repairs
› Courtesy Cars Available
Phone 329 5841 | 132 Leeston Road, Springston
www.selwynauto.com | office@selwynauto.com
GET CONNECTED WITH
Scorch Broadband
THE SIDE-BY-SIDE THAT’S MADE OF STEEL!
$1,000 off
the retail
price
Limited time only
Roundwood
Farm posts
Deer Fencing
Post and Rail Fencing
Yarding Timber
Oregon Rails
Oregon Gates
Sheep and Deer Netting
Gallagher
Strainrite Fencing Systems
Rural Section
HOURS
Mon - Fri: 7am - 5pm
Saturday: 8am- 12pm
Weedons Ross Rd
to Rolleston
We are here
Berketts Rd
Jason Pester 1304 Main South Road, Christchurch
jason@cthl.co.nz P 03 3477465 F 03 3477032
Trents Rd
Main South Rd / SH1
Your Local Timber Merchant
DEALErS
WAnTED
nOW!
0800 726 724 www.scorch.co.nz