Fred Phillips says the region could do better than loading an additional $80,000 capital expense for the construction of dairy effluent ponds on dairy farmers
Dairy farmers are spending millions of dollars on effluent storage for no environmental benefit, says Agricultural Business Associates natural resource engineer Fred Phillips.
Phillips questioned the effectiveness DairyNZ’s Dairy Effluent Storage Calculator (DESC) during Waikato Federated Farmers Executive meeting in November as it is spun out of a two-tier system classifying farms as either high or low risk based on soil type.
The region could do better than loading an additional $80,000 capital expense for the construction of dairy effluent ponds on dairy farmers because of collective ignorance, Phillips said.
“If that pond takes out 0.4 hectares of productive land, then there is an ongoing income reduction of $2,200 per hectare,” Phillips said.
“If the pond does not result on an improved environmental outcome than who benefits?”
Farm effluent system salespeople would be rubbing their hands together at the prospect of Fonterra raising the midpoint of the 2024/25 season forecast farmgate milk price from $9 per kilogramme of milk solids to $9.50.
The Waikato region boasts the greatest concentration of dairy herds in the country with 1,057,651 cows in 3,020 herds (28.5 per cent) grazing 362,204 total effective hectares, according to New Zealand Diary Statistics 2022-23 published by DairyNZ and the Livestock Improvement Corporation. The Waikato produced 22 per cent, or 412,514,347 kilograms, of New Zealand’s milk solids. There were 595 dairy herds in Waipa district, 331 in Otorohanga district and 59 in Waitomo district.
The Waikato region is New Zealand’s largest dairying region with 28.5 percent of the national herd spread over 3,020 herds.
“Of the 685,542ha of dairy land in the region I would estimate that at least 120,000ha or 17 per cent is incorrectly designated as High Risk including about 60 per cent or more of the Region’s peat based agricultural soils,” Phillips said.
“At best this is just irresponsible. The excessive storage being recommended as a result of this misinformation has a cost of about $400 per hectare or $48 million and it has zero environmental benefit.”
“Two categories of soil risk are totally inadequate when it comes to storage requirements,” Phillips said.
“There are also thousands of Ha of volcanic soils that should also be classed as Very Low Risk that the DESC does not get right.”
“DESC assumes that farmers will irrigate on every available day.
“The soil guidance maps are not fit for purpose. This causes major conflicts.
“Unless Federated Farmers takes some leadership in this, farmers will continue to be required to spend millions of dollars for no environmental benefit.
“Farmers need to push DairyNZ into Action. The calculator is a dog and has never been ground truthed for very low risk soils.”
“The proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1 says we have got to use DESC,” said Waikato Federated Farmers Executive member and Te Pahu dairy farmer John Bluett.
“If we fix the DESC we don’t need to change plan change 1.”
Bluett told The News he would be taking Phillips concerns to DairyNZ.
Meanwhile, Phillips shared his findings with Waikato Regional Council in August and the matter is due to be discussed at the council’s ordinary meeting on November 28.
