32 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Peter and Robyn Askey An Idyllic life may well be disrupted Richard Loader Robyn and Peter Askey’s idyllic life on their 90-hectare dairy farm near Edgecumbe, in the centre of the Rangitaiki Plains, may well be disrupted if plans by two different energy companies go ahead to convert two neighbouring dairy farms to solar farms. One farm, on the Askey’s northern boundary encompasses 160 hectares, while another on the southern boundary is about 40 hectares. The Askey’s are strongly opposed to the development of both solar farms. “We just feel it’s a waste of top farm land, and it will spoil our happy place,” says Robyn. “Our view looks onto the farm and Whale Island on the northern boundary and that will be lost. There will also be significant noise during construction, and humming from the power generation itself. There won’t be anybody actually living on the farms and so we’re a bit worried about security. There will also be increased water runoff from the solar panels into the drains and we’re low lying anyhow. And there is likely to be an increase in weeds and pests.” While the plans are yet to be consented, Robyn says if they proceed the power company on the northern boundary will take the power to Edgcumbe and one option is for all the trees down a little side road that the Askeys and other farmers look out onto, to be replaced with power poles. The farm has been in Robyn’s family since the 1950s. Her mother spent many years planting trees along the fence lines, providing plenty of shade and shelter for the 280 Friesian dairy cows that call the farm home. There are also a couple of orchards with fruit trees and walnut trees, all adding to the pretty nature of the property. Robyn and Peter moved onto the farm in 1997. Robyn says that while she has always loved dairy farming, her passion was reignited when she attended a course run by Dairy Production Systems on cow nutrition and different feeds for cows at different times. “It’s a real challenge to get everything right and that really is my passion. Last year we had no growth and in August the whole farm was like a lawn - it’s just been so wet and cold. We grew about thirty percent less grass, so that put a dampener on everything in terms of milk production. We’ve had a much better season this year. It stopped raining in May and the grass started growing in June with growth in July and August and it’s still growing. That helped with wintering; the cows have been well fed and putting weight on going into the start of the new milking season.” While Peter works off-farm as an environmental engineer, he does a lot of the farm maintenance work and helps look after the effluent system. “Peter enjoys the farm though because we have a lot of orchards and have good bird life - we have wekas here now. Our future challenge is for the budgets to come right so we can sort out our retirement - not that I want to retire - but that is our next challenge.” Stainless steel – fabrication and welding Design Supply Install Steve King 027 4095 0054 Will King 027 615 7922 Robbie Hall 027 807 1312 * Ef uent & irrigation * Feed systems * Frost protection * Animal health * Detergent * Rubberware & Consumable * Trenching service c1107kwKing Milking & water systems specialists since 1988 Main Street, Edgecumbe Ph 07 304 9640 anytime Robyn’s mother spent many years planting trees along the fence lines, providing plenty of shade and shelter for the 280 Friesian dairy cows that call the farm home.
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