Our regional council and farmers doing good work
Over the last few months I’ve touched on a variety of subjects, with many of them receiving positive and supportive responses. When I was first invited by the editor to write an opinion column he was keen for me to focus on subjects from my background in farming.
So I thought it was again time to touch on one of my favourite subjects, our Taranaki farming environment and the way our Taranaki farming community are endeavouring, and almost 100 per cent succeeding, to tender their lands with great care and respect so our future generations have something to be proud of.
I have also commented on our early pioneers who initially hacked our beautiful farmlands out of virgin native bush or swamplands into what we have today.
Those early pioneers had tremendous hurdles to cross, yet somehow they did so we can all salute them for their tenacity while making a new life for themselves and or their families. Today we can still learn from the legacy they left for us.
I also admit I am a strong supporter of our Taranaki Regional Council, which emerged from the local government reforms of 1989 when our 16 councils became four, all of which are still with us today.
Regional councils all over NZ have the role of monitoring and looking after our environment, including the control of weeds and pests. We are fortunate here in Taranaki to have perhaps the highest performing regional council in NZ.
However, based on some comment that one reads in our Daily News, there are one or two critics who may disagree, which is of course their right.
One of the issues is the water quality of more than 300 rivers and streams flowing from our Mt Taranaki.
I have just read the latest water quality report released by Gary Bedford, Director of Environment Quality, which shows high standards of water quality in most of these rivers and with the continuing trend to improve.
I personally believe this is a result of the TRC’s involvement with almost every one of our more than 1700 dairy farmers in their Riparian planting programmes on all rivers and streams in our province.
With some five million natives now planted, water quality will continue to improve.
There is a saying, Rome wasn’t built in a day, which is quite appropriate as it was in the mid1990s that this programme got under way, with almost every dairy farmer committed, and if not they must sign up by 2020. It does take time for the natives to grow and protect the stream environment.
Then along with riparian planting we have what is known as Farm Plans with sheep and beef farmers.
The TRC sit and discuss environmentallyfriendly programmes with them on their land management plans. To date approximately 70 per cent of these farmers are signed up. It is also worth noting that 40 per cent of our Taranaki land mass is still in bush.
If you happen to be on what I call the anti-list, please take time to Google the TRC’s website and read for yourself the comprehensive water quality report and study the science behind these programmes.
There is also a very interesting website called Dairy NZ to Google and, again, read for yourself the amazing and positive things happening in our farming world, along with some very interesting statistics.
Taranaki residents have something to be hugely proud of. Go for a Sunday drive around the mountain, then into our hinterlands and enjoy and appreciate how our farmers are caring for their lands, which, I say, is second to none in the world.
Right at this time we are experiencing a great spring having come through a better winter than usual, certainly not like last winter and spring, which we would rather forget.
We are growing lots of grass. Production will be up for most and now many are in a queue waiting for contractors to help with the harvest, silage, hay or sow maize crops.
Most Daily News readers probably give little thought to what happens behind the scenes on our farms but it is intense.
We now have farming families who are opening their farms to visitors, which is great to see.
These are people who want to be part of showing our nation how wonderful farming is and their individual commitment to help produce towards the wealth of our country.
They also want to show the efforts they are going to in order to protect their farm environment and keep NZ under .002 per cent of world pollution.
I rest my case.
We now have farming families who are opening their farms to visitors, which is great to see.