NZ Dairy Spring 2021

8 | nz dairy Retiring the farm for wetland project Karen Phelps DAIRY PEOPLE » Geoff Kane H orowhenua farmer Geoff Kane won’t feel any remorse when the 142ha dairy farm he has invested years into is retired from farming in two years and the cows head out the gate for the final time. Instead he feels proud his land will create a legacy project for the region when it is converted into a nationally significant wetland complex. Horizons Regional Council will lead the partner- ship project, which aims to restore Lake Horowhen- ua by reducing the amounts of nitrogen, sediment and phosphorus entering the lakethrough the wetland and water quality interventions. Govern- ance Group Chair for the project and Horizons’ Chair Rachel Keedwell says this will allow the lake to progress towards water quality targets within the One Plan and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM). “This is especially significant as Lake Horowhen- ua and the Arawhata Stream are below the national bottom line for total nitrogen and nitrate under the NPS-FM,” she says. The plan is for the wetland complex to add to a suite of completed and in progress interventions, which include the constructed sediment trap, Hokio Stream fish pass, and weed harvesting. Work is also being undertaken with horticultural growers to reduce the impact of their operations on the lake water quality. Geoff says that environmental are not the only outcomes but also community, cultural, and eco- nomic. Project partners are looking at opportunities to incorporate a walkway between Lake Horow- henua and Lake Waiwiri (Papaitonga), forest and ecosystem restoration and recreational areas. A collaborative approach will be taken to the project working with Muaupoko Tribal Authority and Lake Horowhenua Trust. Horizons has also estab- lished a Governance Group to address water quality issues across the wider area. Geoff Kane planting and protecting natives from hares on Shannon farm. Inset: cows on paddocks that will revert to swamp as a nutrient trap in Levin. Proud to support Geoff Kane Proud to be suppliers to Geoff Kane FREIGHT, FERTILISER APPLICATION, QUARRY SUPPLIES AND EXCAVATION www.shannonbulk.co.nz 0800 SHN BULK