72 | nzdairy Fragmentation of rural areas a concern Karen Phelps DAIRY PEOPLE » Margaret Wright Margaret Wright hadn’t particularly planned on getting involved in rural politics. But concern about the current regulatory environment and the need for support for the next generation of farmers saw her elected as dairy chair for Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty in May. “The local branch of Federated Farmers had been inactive for a number of years. I didn’t want to get involved in policy and political stuff but I saw a real need for a connection, particularly for the next generation of farmers coming through, because our rural communities are becoming more fragmented with farms being chopped up for lifestyle blocks, pine trees, kiwifruit etc. “There wasn’t a lot of opportunity for young farming people to get together and talk about stuff that was bothering them. In the current environment I think its really important grassroots concerns are represented to government and I can be a channel for that. I’m also doing this because farming won’t be as simple as it was for my generation and I think it’s important to stand up for the family farm lifestyle and the community.” Margaret grew up on a drystock farm in South Waikato and is a proudly fth generation Kiwi drystock farmer. She share farmed with her parents then, when she got married, bought a small drystock farm at Manawahe, between Matata and Lake Rotoma, in the early 90s and converted it to dairy. Over the years she and husband Dave, who always worked off-farm leaving Margaret in charge, expanded their business. Today the 220ha effective/299ha total farm milks 450 cows. Six years ago Margaret went to once a day milking driven by labour shortages and the size of cowshed, a 28-aside herringbone. They also have a 185-cow farm on the Rangitaiki Plains near Edgecumbe, which has a contract milker. When Margaret and Dave arrived in Manawahe it was predominantly farming. As was common at the time, both partners didn’t work on farm. One worked off farm as it was the only way to remain viable. Lifestyle blocks started to be subdivided off farms as it helped with cash ow and the next generation coming through to take over the family farm. Because the area is near Kawerau and the sawmills, land started to be planted in pine and eucalypt trees. Once the trees were harvested some came back into farmland and some returned to pine trees. Now Margaret is seeing the same thing happening again: more subdivision for lifestyle blocks, and farms turning into pine forests, either for forestry or carbon credits. “I farm because I love it and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved here. To see it planted in pine trees or chopped up into little non-productive blocks is crazy. We are the lowest greenhouse gas per kg meat, milk and bre country in the world and we are being asked to make stupid decisions. How will we produce food if our productive land goes into these kinds of things? We need to feed people. We need to be thinking big picture.” The regulatory environment is Margaret’s most challenging and worrying aspect of farming. “Right from the get go Dave and I have retired and planted land, fenced off bush etc. We’ve always tried to do the right thing by the land. We have a soft fertiliser approach using only around 90kgs of N per year per ha. That’s always been a focus. In the future it may not be possible to farm some of our steeper land, which is concerning. “With our farms it’s a continual process ne tuning. We’re always trying to do things better and stay ahead of the game. We always have one eye wide open for opportunities.” The 220ha effective/299ha total farm milks 450 cows (top). Fenced off wetland. “Right from the get go Dave and I have retired and planted land and fenced off bush,” says Margaret. BayVets Clinic Phone: 07 304 9184 40 Bridge Street, Edgecumbe. Proud to be associated with Margaret Wright www.goldengrain.co.nz | 07 3049683 or 0274308607 566West Bank Road, RD3, Whakatane, 3193 Kurt Dunn Director M 027 4436 878 | E kurt@kdelectrical.info 7 Lawrence St, Otorohanga | PO Box 42, T.A 3840 ELECTRICAL C O MM E R C I A L / R E S I D E N T I A L / R U R A L Farm Maintenance / Cowsheds New Homes / Alterations / Rewires
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