Field day on looking after soil and water in Karapiro

Bala Tikkisetty, sustainable agriculture coordinator at the Waikato Regional Council.

Farmers, rural professionals and landowners are being encouraged to attend a field day to hear ideas on pole planting and mitigating the loss of sediment.

The free event is being held at Sir Don Rowlands Centre in Karapiro on Thursday, October 24 starting at 9am.

It will wrap up with a field visit in the afternoon to Bill Garland's Roto-O-Rangi dry stock farm.

Guest speakers during the day will cover a range of topics, including soil erosion and water quality, poplar and willow pole planting for soil stabilisation, and funding options for addressing hill country erosion.

The visit to the dry stock farm will be an opportunity to view and discuss the performance of various clones of poplar and willows, redesigning the tracks, and farm level sediment loss mitigation practices.

"By managing soil and water well on your farm there can be both economic and environmental gains," said Waikato Regional Council sustainable agriculture advisor, Bala Tikkisetty.

"There's plenty farmers can do to protect soil from various types of erosion — a lot of information, funding and advice is available, and that's what they'll hear about at this field day."

There will also be information on contaminants, and an update on Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora: Proposed Plan Change 1.

The event is being organised by Waikato Regional Council, with support from Beef + Lamb NZ, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Plant and Food Research, and The New Zealand Poplar and Willow Research Trust.