26 | nzdairy John is taking practical action on his own 162ha dairy farm and 47ha dairy support block. DAIRY PEOPLE » Lockerbie Farms • from page 24 6LQFH ZH YH EHHQ ZRUNLQJ LQ SDUWQHUVKLS ZLWK WKH +XUXQXL IDUPLQJ FRPPXQLW\ IRU LPSURYHG DQLPDO KHDOWK WR DFKLHYH RSWLPXP SURGXFWLRQ :H SURYLGH D ZLGH UDQJH RI DGYDQFHG YHWHULQDU\ DQG WHFKQLFDO VHUYLFHV DQG ZHOFRPH WDONLQJ ZLWK \RX DERXW KRZ WKHVH FDQ LPSURYH SHUIRUPDQFH DQG SURILWDELOLW\ 3DUWQHUVKLSV QRW MXVW SURGXFWV (148,5,(6#1&9(76 &2 1= QFYHWV FR Q] 1&9& '$,5< 1257+ &$17(5%85< 9(7 &/,1,&6 )2//2: 86 21 )$&(%22. SÙËé¾û ÝéÖÖËÙä¬Å¤ ;˻٬ #ÙÄÝ have been going on (consent’s that are expensive to obtain and come with onerous conditions) doesn’t leave a nice taste in the rural landowners mouths. It shouldn’t be a combative environment we are working in. We all have the same interest and want a resilient economy, clean drinking water, native species protected and enhanced. It’s about how we do it that is the question. I think there are more farmers wanting to do good things than urban people think and it’s about providing increased opportunities for them to do that. We are all constrained by finance so we have to smarter and more pragmatic on how we get these opportunities underway. I’m not saying we don’t need consents or regulations but are we spending far too much money on this process that would be better spent delivering a good environmental outcome on ground. It’s not an either or argument, there is a lot of grey area, and we need to be able to have good conversations.” John, a New Zealand Farm Environment Trust 2025 Canterbury Finalist, is taking practical action on his own 162ha dairy farm and 47ha dairy support block, implementing the outcomes of the zone committee process. Part of this has involved setting up a Rongoa Maori contemporary nohoanga native restoration site of 2.5 acres of riparian planting where the farm borders the Waiau Uwha River. “I’m keen on building a relationship with mana whenua as I see that as a key component of New Zealand farming continuing to succeed in the future,” he says. He is in the process of putting in a composting barn on the dairy farm which will take approximately 1 tonne of nitrogen out of the waterway. “Once it’s up and running I will be able to potentially have a methane extraction system in the barn which will further reduce emissions. We have heavy soils and I will be able to utilise different species to further reduce nitrogen. I’m confident we could potentially strip two tonne of nitrogen out of the waterway while still maintaining or increasing production. “I want to be farming long term. We have been farming as a family for over 100 years. I have a young daughter Hattie who is five and a half and I want her to have the opportunity to be a dairy farmer if she wants to.”
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