North Canterbury News: August 17, 2023

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2410273 ONLINE MEAT SALES MEAT2U.NZ HOME KILL & WILD GAME MEAT PROCESSING 313 0022 MASTER BUILDER LocaltoNorth Canterbury. CALL ARTHUR 027 2451601 arthur@robertsonbuilding.co.nz www.robertsonbuilding.co.nz BARNS/FARM BULDINGS•RIB RAFT FLOOR SYSTEM INSTALLATION PROJECTMANAGEMENT•ADDITIONS•NEW HOMES HOME MAINTENANCE•EQC REPAIRS•ALTERATIONS FREE QUOTES 2021055 • FARM FENCING • YARDS • EARTHWORKS Scott Heasley 0275 350 302 |heasleyfencing@xtra.co.nz www.heasleyfencing.co.nz The Widest Music Variety Tune in nowtolistenon104.9 North Canterbury and103.7 Hanmer Springs andKaikoura RURAL LIFE 28 North Canterbury News, August 17, 2023 Confidence is at an all time low Arecent surveyofover 1000 dairy,sheep, beef,and arablefarmers has found confidence is at historic lows,says Federated Farmers President Wayne Langford. ‘‘Farmers aredealing with alot at the moment with high interest rates, huge inflation, and asteepdecline in both meat and milk pricesthey receive fortheir products, Mr Langfordsays. ‘‘We’re also facing an unprecedented levelofregulatory changethat is heaping on costs, undermining profitability, and creating hugeuncertainty for farmers.’’ He says all the challenges have arrived at the same time, compounding the pressure farmers were feeling, and it was not sustainable. ‘‘We havereal concerns about farmer wellbeing and what this mightmean for 2539907 farming families, rural communities, and the widerNew Zealand economy. ‘‘Whenfarmers aren’tprofitable or feeling confident, they stop spending money and try to cut any costs theycan from their business, and the implications of thatflow right throughthe economy,’’ Mr Langford says. The Farmer Confidence surveywas conducted in July 2023. Concerningly,this was prior to Fonterra’s announcement last week that they were slashing $1 from their 2023/24 forecast milk price. The biggestconcerns for farmers were debt, interest and banks,regulation and compliance costs,and climate changeand ETS policy. ‘‘Thisisthe second successive farmer confidence survey to set anew recordlow with asteep decline over the last six months sowe’re sounding the alarm. ‘‘The deterioration in farmer profithas occurred at frightening speed. ‘‘This time last year,just 3.5% of farmers reportedmakingaloss. That figure jumped to 27% in this survey, which was conductedprior to Fonterra announcing its payout downgrade. ‘‘This should serveasawakeup call for all political parties, banks, and processors thatsomething needs to urgentlychange. There needs to be arealfocus on reducing the costs and uncertainty farmers are facing,’’MrLangfordsays. FederatedFarmers recently released a roadmapfor restoringfarmerconfidence with12policy priorities for the next Government. Mr Langford says politicians may want to reread it. Water quality needs more work —ECan By DAVID HILL, Local Democracy Reporter More work is needed to improve water quality in the region, Environment Canterbury says. Two reports released recently provide new information about nitrate concentrations in Canterbury’s groundwater and how long it takes before improvements from changes in land use become visible. Environment Canterbury groundwater science manager Carl Hanson says the first report, ‘‘How long will it take?’’,laid out what could be expected within 510 years of major land use changes. The second report, the council’s Annual Groundwater Quality Survey 2022,outlined how nitrate concentrations in groundwater across Canterbury were continuing to increase. ‘‘When we put these two reports together, they tell us that changes made to date have not been enough to turn around the increasing trends in nitrate concentrations,’’ Mr Hanson says. ‘‘Understanding nitrate time lags is crucial to determining whether current nitrate loss reduction measures are sufficient, and it will also help inform future planning processes. ‘‘The science shows us more land management improvements are required if we are to achieve the water quality improvements the community is seeking.’’ Steps to protect freshwater included the adoption of the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan in 2015. The plan introduced new rules designed to reduce the volume of nitrates, usually in the form of fertiliser and animal urine, reaching groundwater. Since then Environment Canterbury has adopted further rule changes, including Plan Change 7, which incorporated recommendations from the Waimakariri Zone Implementation Plan Addendum. The Government's Essential Freshwater package, released in 2020, introduced further requirements. Changes included alimit on the amount of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser livestock farmers could use, new rules on keeping stock away from waterways and greater risk mitigation for practices like winter grazing. Environment Canterbury is now working on anew regional plan, which will review nitrate leaching limits. Mr Hanson says the two reports would help Environment Canterbury in understanding the effectiveness of its policies. ‘‘The changes made over the last 10 years, as well as those being made today, are agood start, but more changes may be still needed if we are to protect our most precious resource for future generations,’’ he says. Public interest journalism funded through New Zealand on Air. Rural subdivisions made easy Find outhow to increase your farm’s valuethrough clever subdivision options. Call 0800 787775 forachat hello@survusrural.co.nz www.survusrural.co.nz
RURAL LIFE The North Canterbury News, August 17, 2023 29 Beware of ecological invader Spur Valerian APort Hills rangerhas cautioned Hurunui to act against the ecologicalinvader Spur Valerian whilethere is stilltime. At ameeting in Amberley, Christchurch City Council Port Hills Ranger Di Carter said there was an opportunity for Hurunui to contain the spread of Spur Valerian (Centranthus ruber). The ecological weed has already invaded Banks Peninsula. Hurunui District Council’sWater and Land coordinator RimaHerber called the meeting to lookatsolutions for Hurunui, bringing together landowners living near two major Spur Valerianinfestationareas up the Waipara River and in the Ram Paddock Roadarea of the Waipara Valley. Stakeholdersincluding Waka Kotahi and QEII National Trust also attended. Ms Carter said a10year spraying programme had been developedfor Banks Peninsula in 2013, with funding from Christchurch CityCouncil and Environment Canterbury, at acost of over $60,000 ayear. This followed acoastalcliffsurvey in 2012 highlightingpockets of SpurValerian growing along the cliffs. At accessible sites it’sbeen 10 years of two controls aseason to get it down to a handfulofseedlings per visit. ‘‘We spray onceayear, withthe coastal cliffsites being done by helicopter. ‘‘By doing this we’remanaging to hold it back to PigeonBay. ‘‘ Ifly withthe pilottominimise nontarget damage, and we do the Mount Evans area by foot,’’ saysMsCarter. ‘‘With someofthe areas around Mount Evansbeing very vast,it’s easy to miss seedlings, so we also do an hour or two by chopper each year.’’ Spur Valerians windborne seeds are easily dispersed and the plant thrives in rock clefts, dry riverbeds and roadside cuttings,where it is quick to choke native species. Spur Valerian migratesfrom peoples gardens. ‘‘Inacontrolled environment,where seedheadsare removed directly after flowering and regrowth, and seedlings are destroyed, the plant can be contained. When it escapes into our rural areas, it quickly takes over,’’ Ms Herbersaid. Christchurch City CouncilSenior Ecologist Nicholas Headtold the meeting that the limestone ecosystems throughout theWeka Passarea and the Waipara Gorge, whichare under the threatofSpur Valerian infestation, havevery high ecological values. ‘‘They support some of the rarest and most threatened plants in the country, including the Weka sun hebe (Heliohebe maccaskillii)and Waipara gentian (Gentianella calcis, subsp waipara)that only occur in the HurunuiDistrict.’’ ‘‘Today, technologyoffers solutions that will helpusasacommunity to protect our Hurunuienvironment,’’ Ms Herber said. Carter said adapting drones to accommodate oblique angles on cliffs was somethingPort Hillspark rangerswere considering. ‘‘We’reslowly progressing the technology to make it work. Ms Herber said it was great to get a commitment fromWaka Kotahi at the meetingtomeet onsitewith spraying contractors to work out aplan for the roadside at Weka Pass, where an infestation is threateningthe limestone bluffs above the road. Hurunuistakeholders and landowners will be joining Ms Herberover the next few weekstogoonsite to areas where Spur Valerian is gaining afoothold in the district. Invader ... Spur Valerian in the Waipara River. PHOTO:FILE Big picture solutions to match big Innovation isatthe root of everything we do. Talk to your local Zimmatic ZIMMATIC dealer today www.zimmaticanz.com Built for today to Talk to your local Zimmatic irrigation dealer today to find keep pace with tomorrow. out how they can help make every drop count. Zimmatic ® is aregistered trademark ofthe Lindsay Corporation. ©2021 Lindsay. All Rights Reserved www.lindsay.com/irrigateanz
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