Mid Canterbury is known for irrigation but that doesn't mean it can't be environmentally friendly. Photo / File
Mid Canterbury is known for irrigation but that doesn't mean it can't be environmentally friendly. Photo / File
Today's "good bugger" is Joanne van Polanen, a Mid-Canterbury dairy farmer who wears many hats, on and off farm. She spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay about how she is doing the right thing by the environment.
Joanne is the deputy chair of the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust whichdelivers the Ballance Farm Environment Awards to 11 regions around the country.
She says the awards are a helpful way for farmers to share information with other farmers and it's a "great positive movement - you only hear good stories ever come out of it."
Also in today's interview, Joanne speaks to Jamie about irrigation, how farmers in the Mid Canterbury region are feeling about Labour's proposed water tax and how she manages to make her farm environmentally friendly.
Listen to the full interview in the Soundcloud embed below:
