26 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Waimakariri Landcare Trust Chloe, Jo, Ruby and Sam Spencer-Bower. Virginia Wright Whether they’re sheep and beef, dairy, arable or any other sort of farm, many of the farms in the Waimakariri District have been farmed for well over 150 years through several generations. The concept of farmers as stewards of the land is nothing new and it’s out of that deep-seated belief in the need to care for the land from which they make their living that the Waimakiriri Landcare Trust grew, formerly known as Next Generation Farming. Chair of the Trust for the last two years, Sam Spencer-Bower is a fth generation farmer milking 3000 Kiwi-X cows on 1400 hectares of farmland irrigated from the Waimakariri River. Faced with the signi cant regulatory changes coming in with the Canterbury Land and Water Regional plan, and the need to reduce nitrogen leaching among other things, the Waimakiriri Landcare Trust (WLT) is a farmer-led initiative to support long-term sustainable agriculture in the Waimakariri District. From Sam’s point of view as a farmer it’s vital to take the time to understand the new regulations, “to work out what they mean and how best to adjust to them, and have a bit of a support network to help.” That’s where WLT comes in. What began with the goal of pulling together farmers’ submissions around the regulations has evolved into more of an interface between the regulatory bodies, industry, and local authorities on the one hand, and farmers on the other. With the long term interests of both the farmers and the Waimakariri District in mind they provide both education and support to farmers if they’re implementing or altering farm management practises in order to address environmental concerns. “There’s probably more support out there than you think for some of these changes. That’s what the Landcare Trust is there for. To investigate new ideas and new technologies and to get the discussions going among farmers to share those ideas and offer support. We managed to get an MPI funded project to fund our co-ordinator to help run some of these projects, and we’re really thankful to all the rural businesses who sponsor us and make it all possible,” says Sam. Continuing the district’s 150 year history VERSATILE - ROBUST - PRECISE BA MURRAY LTD “Our Machine Can Be Perfectly Adapted To Suit Your Requirements” • Versatile From Direct Drilling To Cultivated Soils • Metering Of Up To Three Individual Components • High Coulter Pressure • Suitable For All Sowing Conditions FARMING WITH PASSION • Self Propelled Sprayers • Truck Mounted Boom Sprayers • Handgun Unit • Spreader Trucks • Proof of Placement Mapping HIDE SPRAYING LTD REGISTERED CHEMICAL APPLICATORS IN ALL CLASSES Email: hidespray@xtra.co.nz Ph/Fax: (03) 313 5278 • Mob: Andrew 0274 372 006 Ph: (03) 313 7723 • Mob: Graham 0274 333 786 Hide Spraying is proud to support Claxby Farm - Landcare Erin Harvie started as a Trustee in February 2021 before taking on the co-ordinator role later that year. She’s kept busy putting out a quarterly newsletter with targeted, useful, information; co-ordinating a variety of extension workshops from practical things like the importance of soil health and how to assess and mitigate soil conditions, to health and wellbeing, with speakers like Scott Robertson and Craig Wiggins coming in to reinforce that it’s okay to talk about mental health and to get help; to helping run the MPI funded Sustainable Food and Fibre Future fund (SFFF). It’s a collaborative venture with government involving scienti c research into what future options for diversi cation in the Waimakariri District might look like for farmers looking to reduce their nitrogen leakage and improve their sustainability. “If you were a dairy farm and you were looking at retiring some of that land from dairy and put it into an alternative land use what could be suitable and what would its impact be on nitrogen loss from the property,” explains Erin. “If you were a dairy farm and you were looking at retiring some of that land from dairy and put it into an alternative land use what could be suitable and what would its impact be on nitrogen loss from the property.” A key WLT project involves piloting the Integrated Farm Plan approach with government money available to fund a number of plans. The idea is to work out how these detailed plans can both add value and help reduce risk for farming businesses. The common theme running through this and the other various initiatives is the value of well researched information, technology, and careful monitoring. The Waimakariri Landcare Trust hopes to show that sustainable and pro table farming can happily co-exist, and to give some very good ideas on how to achieve it for the bene t of all.
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