West Coast Monitor Farm

Westland has some unique challenges such as high rainfall and seasonal dry peroids which are variable across the region. Westland has now been collecting data for 10 years and continues to building on the information currently available.

This project funded by Westland Milk Products, DairyNZ, CRV Ambreed, ARL-Ravensdown and Rabobank aims to generate reliable pasture growth and quality, and soil temperature information, over the next 12 months, on two commercial dairy farms in Westland.

Farm walks schedule for this season are weekly from August to May, and monthly over the winter period.

Each week we will provide a Weekly Summary of information from the following regions:

Buller: Mawheraiti (Stu and Deb Bland), Westland: Kowhitirangi (Anna and Jeremy Hart).

Weekly Update as at week ending Wednesday 14 April 2021 

 CO Comment

Catchments are connected by the flow of water, meaning what happens to water upstream or on-farm influences water quality downstream. Even temporary streams and channels influence water quality downstream because they typically make up a large volume of water flowing over land.

The amount of nutrients, sediments and bacteria reaching a water body will depend on catchment features such as land use and practices, rainfall amounts and patterns, soil types and slope, and vegetation cover that intercept rainfall. Different types of water bodies react differently to excess nutrients, sediments, and bacteria. Once in a water body the responses to nutrients (and sediments) differ between lakes and rivers.

Forming or joining a catchment group is your chance to have input into the outcomes for the catchment you farm in.

Coming up this week DairyNZ is supporting a round of sessions by NZ Landcare Trust. Lloyd McCall is coming to Karamea, 20 April; Westport & Reefton, 21 April; and Hokitika, 22 April to discuss his involvement in successfully setting up a catchment group.

Lloyd has been instrumental in assisting farmers to implement the catchment group model and will provide insights into how this could work for the West Coast.

Lloyd has been pivotal in the establishment of the community-led catchment group the Pomahaka Water Care Group. Lloyd has worked as a rural banker, accountant, farm business mentor, and dairy farmer in West Otago. Formed out of a desire to take water quality management into their own hands, this group has established a farm-level water testing network and leveraged extensive funding to achieve community-wide goals.

Come along to find out more about this important topic which is hugely relevant on farm now and will be into the future. For more information and to register visit https://www.dairynz.co.nz/events/?region=5454

 Farm Summary

NB: pasture quality data are for 1 sample collected from each farm.

Click here for the full weekly summary - 14 April 2021

 Previous Weekly Summaries

2021

 2020

2019

2018

2017

2016