Farmer urges burn-off care
Farmers have acknowledged they can do better following a spate of crop stubble burn-offs around the outskirts of Waimate.
As annoyance in the district grew over the smokey haze descending over the urban areas, South Canterbury Federated Farmers vice-president Colin Hurst, a cropping farmer who lives in the Waimate District, said there would be fewer problems if farmers complied with smokemanagement plans.
‘‘The other problem with Waimate is the prevailing wind as the smoke drifts towards the Hunter Hills,’’ Hurst said. ‘‘The message to colleagues is wait until the wind is blowing the other way.’’
Hurst said he also made a habit of not undertaking burnoffs during weekends or outside work hours. ‘‘I think we . . . need to look at ourselves a lot harder in terms of how we manage burnoffs. A lot of it comes back to common sense, this is about having a good arable practice.’’
Hurst’s comments follow criticism from others who experienced the smoke first hand.
Concerned Dunedin residents Ronald Robert and Nancy Phipps contacted Stuff with photographs, saying they were surprised to see hectares of wheat stubble burning, with a thick smoke blowing over Waimate and the wider area.
The law needed to be changed to ‘‘stop this old fashioned practice, Robert Phipps said at the time.
Ann Dennison, who lives at a property overlooking Waimate, said it was a seasonal issue and she sent photographs to Stuff showing the smoke hanging over the Waimate township.
Skye Bogle also approached Stuff after witnessing more than six stubble burn-off fires between Waimate and Ashburton on Monday.
‘‘We were driving up from Invercargill and we couldn’t believe it,’’ Bogle said. ‘‘We thought there were fire restrictions, some of the smoke was carrying over the road.
‘‘It was really scary, the smoke was clouding our view at some stages.’’
South Canterbury Federated Farmers president Jason Grant said burn-offs were a good management tool for a limited time over summer, with environmental and economic benefits but he acknowledged the urban perspective, ‘‘that it is not very nice’’.
SCFF arable chairman Jeremy Talbot also said more could be done to ease the problem.
‘‘Waimate has an issue and Federated Farmers does not approve of people being irresponsible,’’ Talbot said.
Two farmers in Waimate had undertaken burn-offs on Sunday, on the eastern side of the town, creating an issue, he said.
Both farmers would be spoken to, Talbot said.
‘‘We are not happy about the actions of some farmers and there needs to be some modifications to their actions.’’ Meanwhile, Environment Canterbury Timaru operations manager Judith Earl-Goulet said ECan and Waimate District Council staff had discussed different ways the two organisations could support each other in responding to complaints about outdoor burning in the Waimate area.
‘‘For example, providing more detailed information such as specific location/address when complaints are received, and photographing situations so that there is a good record of an event,’’ Earl-Goulet said.
‘‘This enables us to modify our response in the future.’’