Will Foley: Farmers faced with livestock exclusion

Will Foley, Federated Farmers' Hawke's Bay provincial president.

Sheep and beef farmers could be forgiven for thinking that Tukituki Plan Change 6 doesn't affect them.

All the hype around the Ruataniwha Dam and then the Board of Inquiry set up to independently come up with the proposed plan change has all been about nitrogen.

Nitrogen losses or leaching from sheep and beef farms is traditionally low. As an example, my farm at Takapau has a maximum allowable limit of 19.8kg per hectare per year as set out in the land-use capability units in the plan change.

Under the current version of the Overseer model, my estimated nitrogen loss is only 5kg per hectare per year when it takes into account my livestock stocking, cropping, fertiliser use and weather patterns.

Deer and beef farmers will need to focus on phosphorus and sediment runoff, including livestock exclusion.

Livestock exclusion applies to all cattle and deer on slopes less than 15 degrees or all slopes if livestock intensity is over 18 stock units per hectare.

This exists to keep excrement out of waterways but also treading damage on the banks that can cause sediment runoff particularly in wet periods.

Whether it is the Tukituki catchment with rules in place or the Tutaekuri, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro and Karamu (TANK) catchments or just the wider Hawke's Bay, all farmers will need to address these matters in due course.

Although some of the tasks will be easy and some of the works will be ticked off early, a lot of the work will take time and cost.

Dairy farmers have made a tremendous effort around stock exclusion but their terrain is generally easier to fence than drystock farms. Luckily it is just beef and not sheep needing to be fenced out, meaning it will be a cheaper fence. Some deer farmers, however, will face huge costs.

- Will Foley is Federated Farmers' Hawke's Bay provincial president