Farming practice

I read with interest Dennis Stewart’s letter in the Taranaki Daily News. I can fully understand farmers’ ire over proposed water taxes and other measures to mitigate environmental effects of farming. The fact is however, farming has so intensified over the past decades in New Zealand, that if we don’t try to mitigate it in some way, our environment will be perhaps irreversibly damaged, and in particular our waterways, wetlands and estuaries. It beggars belief that a country as lush and fertile as New Zealand should even need large scale irrigation. Taranaki is renowned for its rainfall, the only reason for irrigating is because of over intensification. Canterbury, and now the Mackenzie Country are classic examples of areas where dairying should be banned. Perhaps the new government should offer incentives NOT to dairy farm in these areas, and to put in place suitable cropping. This would also eliminate and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen run-off. Meanwhile, in Taranaki, we could focus on the ongoing sustainability of dairy in our rich region, as well as the ongoing recovery of our land and waterways by focusing on producing a high quality product from less intensive farming practices, as well as looking at more ecologically friendly methods of producing food.

Pat Swanson

New Plymouth