Biofuel - good or bad?

Is biofuel a good thing for Southland?
Solid Energy is encouraging Southland farmers to plant oilseed rape for biofuel, but overseas where crop-based biofuel production is booming, warning bells are being sounded. Too much good, productive land is being converted to grow fuel for cars. We should take notice of the warning and also the alternative being proposed, growing trees for biofuel on marginal land not used for food crops. Southland is very well placed to grow sustainable tree crops. If we make the right choice now, we could profit greatly from the new market for biofuels. This article has the details.

Honeybees and the varroa mite

All Southland farmers, horticulturalists and home gardeners will need to know about the state of our honeybees and the situation we find ourselves now that the varroa mite has arrived in the South Island. The impact from the loss of pollinating honeybees will be felt well beyond the apiaries and will have a significant economic impact on our region. I attended the Ministry of Agriculture’s public meeting at Gore last week and heard about steps being taken to help beekeepers survive the effects of the mite. There is a way through the expected ‘blitz’ and details of the methods proposed can be found here on the Ministry’s website.

Candidates on-line

If you are interested to see blogs and websites of other candidates around the country, visit
this site for a look at who else is standing and what they have to say. Sadly, there are no other Southland candidates with a site listed...yet!

Dear Editor

This letter appeared in one of Southlands local newspapers and reflects concerns held by many of us about the quality of the water we are offered for drinking by our local authorities.

Dear Editor

If our drinking water comes from the Aparima river and that same river is where ooze from dairy farms, old dumps and Otautau ends up, is it safe for drinking? I only ask because sometimes the tap water smells funny.

Thirsty

Our lowland rivers are not in good condition and much needs to be done to improve them. My research into water polishing systems using aquatic plants, reed beds and riparian plantings and the practical projects I have completed mean that I have very strong opinions about the water available to Southlanders for drinking. This is one area where I can offer a great deal to the council. I would call for immediate action on non-point discharge into our rivers and more accurate monitoring of streams that feed the main rivers. How challenging it would be to land users to have to draw their drinking water from a point down stream of their property! That would result in some very quick changes to effluent and fertiliser management.

Paying for water

Should dairy farmers have to pay for the water they use?
This is a pressing issue for Southland. Dairying uses very high volumes of water throughout the milk production process. There will need to be regulation of the resource, but how that is to be done is all important. Farmers now can avoid a lot of anguish by researching and installing low-water use or no-water use systems. These already exist and are being used now on some farms in New Zealand. A far-sighted farmer will move toward minimizing what will surely become a much fought over resource – water.
Here’s a sample of what Bryce Johnson, Chief Executive of Fish & Game New Zealand has to say.
“New Zealand’s freshwater water resource belongs to all Kiwis and is not the priority or exclusive right of intensive agriculture. Meeting the true costs of production is one way intensive agriculture will accept responsibility for its adverse environmental effects.”
“A voluntary approach to environmental responsibility has not generated the outcomes needed. Perhaps the time has come for intensive dairying to become a controlled activity, especially with the new wave of expansions and conversions that will follow the high pay outs.”

A change in the weather

If climate change delivers us warmer temperatures and more rain, will we respond by cramming our landscape with more dairy cows?
Southland has enormous potential for growing food for the increasingly warm and dry parts of the country where new insect pests and lack of water will make growing fruit and vegetables difficult. There will be benefit to our region from a new climate but the direction we take in response to that change will be all important. With food prices rapidly rising world-wide, we would do very well to work toward self-reliance and make the best use of our excellent soils and water resources.

Our zero-fare buses.

Are we giving enough credit to Invercargill’s zero-fare bus services? Looping around the city and out into the suburbs, the Freebie and the Purple Circle are as good examples as you could get to show that it isn’t necessary to always use a car to get to where you want to go. Our zero-fare service is widely known, appearing on Wikipedia here and admired by other cities around the world. We should be proud of our innovative approach to reducing vehicle emmissions in and around our city.

Milk Tankers

How committed are Fonterra to dairying in Southland? Will they build a rail network to move milk the way they have in the Wairarapa, or will the number of tankers on our roads grow and grow as dairying increases? Read more on Fonterra’s transport initiatives here.

Need a speaker?

Are you looking for a speaker for your meetings? I am keen to talk to Southland audiences about a project to grow orchards of heritage apple trees throughout the district. You may have read an article about the project titled,’ Scheme Bearing Fruit’ which featured in the Southland Times in June and resulted in a wave of interest around Southland. I would like to present the project to your members and perhaps interest them in ‘Open Orchard’, as it is known.

I am an experienced speaker and have addressed audiences as diverse as NIWA scientists, University groups, Ngai Tahu youth, visiting Asian travel groups, La Leche and U3A. I can present an illustrated talk using a digital projector if you have a screen or blank wall, or an image-free talk if you wish.
Feel free to contact me:
by phone 032348249 evenings
by email guy10@actrix.co.nz

Welcome

This is the blog of Robert Guyton, candidate for the Environment Southland election of councillors.
On this site I will post my views and policies on the management of Southland's environment.
Please feel free to leave a comment.