Waikato DairyNZ Farmwatch for week ending December 1

Photo / DairyNZ

COMMENT

By DairyNZ

With tough winter conditions that weren’t conducive to irrigating, many farms around the region have full effluent ponds.

With drier days now is a good time to consider emptying your pond.

Effluent provides a valuable source of nutrients for your farm and can help to reduce your fertiliser costs.

Ideally, your pond should be lowered to provide at least 75 per cent capacity before winter.

It is important to have a buffer available should the region be hit with a summer storm, and you can’t irrigate.

Storing is smart for the drought but having a buffer is important.

We’re hearing a lot about farm effluent compliance visits lately.

It is timely to remind everyone about the requirements to comply with the regional rules.

Farmwatch graphic / DairyNZ

If we are talking specifically about storage and ponds it is all about being able to demonstrate that your pond has enough storage for your system and is sealed to prevent leakage into groundwater.

Refer to the DairyNZ website for Dairy Effluent WOF assessors and Accredited Effluent System Designers who can help.

Effluent Systems - DairyNZ.