Catchment Groups empowering rural communities
The depth of talent and skills present in every rural community is something that never fails to impress me.
Possibly because small communities are required to be selfsufficient and resourceful, people do have the opportunity to utilise their skills in ensuring schools, clubs and sports teams – and all those other organisations that make up the fabric of our rural communities – tick.
We know when adversity hits, rural communities will rally together to support each other and we’ve seen that this month in response to the devastating fire in the Nelson region.
I know I speak for farmers everywhere when I say my thoughts go out to all those affected, particularly those who have lost property, livestock or feed resources in the blaze.
I recently heard about some terrific examples of farming communities gathering together to identify and address the environmental challenges we, as a country, are all having to face.
One example that stood out was the Hakataramea Catchment Group, a group that is essentially a platform to share knowledge and resources to protect and enhance the environment in South Canterbury’s Hakataramea Valley.
This group was started – and is being driven – by two women Sarah Elliot and Juliet Gray (a former Southlander), who had moved to the area and saw a need to get together as a community to address the issues facing them.
The establishment of community groups to collectively address problems is nothing new, as in the 1990s there were examples of groups of farmers banding together to look at how they could best deal with issues such as drought and soil erosion.
Today the Hakataramea Group is collectively dealing with the preservation of clean water, nutrient management and the enhancement of shared community spaces.
These catchment groups are typically farmer driven and deal with the environmental issues specific to their region, but they are also inclusive of all the stakeholders in that catchment.
The ability to take ownership and address issues without the heavy-hand of regulation forcing farmers hands is empowering.
For example, communities monitoring and measuring their own water quality gives farmers the ability to respond quickly to any changes and show the regulators and the community that farmers take water quality seriously.
Water is a complex issue and we don’t have all the answers, but initiatives like this are a step in the right direction.
We will be highlighting the role of catchment groups in taking ownership of their particular environmental issues at Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Annual Meeting in Timaru on 21 March, as these groups are a critical part of B+LNZ’s Environment Strategy which was launched last year.
The Environment Strategy is one pillar in the wider organisational strategy which we have spent the last 12 months activating.
It is all well having a vision and a plan, activating it is where the rubber meets the road and I’m proud of the progress we have made, particularly around environmental management and the launch of New Zealand’s first Red Meat Brand, Taste Pure Nature.
I invite you all to join us in Timaru as we look back on the past year and look forward to next year.
We will also have the opportunity to visit the Hayward’s family farm and looking at how they integrate an arable operation with a high-performing sheep and beef business.