Ah, David!

"In response to David Rose's "Grassroots" column in last week's issue, I'm disappointed that a senior representative of Federated Farmers continues to backpedal on efforts to improve water quality in Southland. The scientific reports that underpinned the State of the Environment Report and the project to improve the water quality in the Waituna Lagoon were reviewed by independent scientists from NIWA, Otago University, DairyNZ, Opus, DOC, Fish and Game, among others. Data from monitoring in the Waituna Creek shows nitrogen levels at that site have increased over the last 10 years. David has stated that Federated Farmers' own reviewer, Tom Heller, found "shonky" flow adjustments that "corrupted the data", but those words aren't in his report. Mr Heller actually concluded that, aside from a couple of gaps, Environment Southland's: "water quality and environmental monitoring programme to date appears to be wholly suitable." Next month our Council will consider introducing a rule requiring new conversions to dairying to obtain a consent, so we can be sure new dairy farms will have minimal environmental impact. Applicants will need a farm plan that shows appropriate provision is made for nutrient budgeting, drainage and effluent disposal. David refers to the Federated Farmers delegation which spoke to our Councillors in December. The record shows that his fellow representative Doug Fraser said that the new dairy conversion provisions could have a positive outcome if "practical farmers" were involved with developing the new rule, alongside Environment Southland staff. This being so, it's hard to understand why the Federated Farmers elected farmers last week walked away from the working group that is framing up the new requirements. I'm often contacted by farmers wanting to discuss environmental issues. Many of them show more understanding of water quality problems than their representatives on Federated Farmers.

Ali Timms 

Chairman 

Environment Southland"

Ouch!

Feel those petals wilt, Mr Rose!

Rose sees red

Federated Farmers spokesperson David Rose makes some interesting claims in the Hot Topic column of last week's Fiordland Advocate. He levels his aim at 'some' councillors of Environment Southland and makes unsubstantiated claims about their ability to do the job they are elected for, and trained to do. Councillors, I can reliable inform you, undergo professional development to enable them to make good decisions, judgements that are informed by evidence and tempered with fair decision making process. The training is rigorous and time consuming, and results in a recognised high standard of unbiased decision-making, to the extent that training can do.
David Rose appears not to accept this and claims that some councillors 'want to act on emotion, not science' when deliberating on the problems Southland faces as a result of farming. He talks of Waituna and the serious issues the lagoon faces and how Environment Southland councillors plan to deal with those and the wider Southland issue of intensification of farming. Rose clearly favours some members of our council and says that 'part of the council wants to work with the community on a factual science-informed response', but goes on the smear the 'others' who are 'want to act on emotion, not science' and even worse it seems, to Rose anyway, these errant councillors who don't want to work with the community, who don't want to 'act on science', the emotional decision-makers, want to do it NOW! And what they want to do is MAKE RULES! This, it seems, is very bad, according to Rose's way of thinking.
How Mr Rose knows these details of councilor thinking is a puzzle. Has he been a fly on the wall at our meetings? Mr Rose has not been sitting in the public seating area during council meetings, so far as I have noticed, so he must be relying on second-hand opinion. He's very confident of his sources then, so willing is he to go public with his opinions.
Mr Rose makes another interesting claim. He says, "Federated Farmers have lobbied hard to have a process where farmers' input will be sought while considering the changes ." This puzzles me also. I've not been subject to hard lobbying from the Federated Farmers, either in the boardroom or in private so I'm wondering who has? Mr Rose may well have been lobbying other councillors, but I've seen neither hide nor hair of him. I'll ask tomorrow, who it is that's had the pleasure of his lobbying and I'm guessing, that of his brothers in arms. 
I often hear about the need for all parties involved in the management of Southland's resources to work collaboratively, sing from the same song-sheet and get together around the same table. Federated Farmers' Mr Rose, who should know better, seems determined to take pot-shots from afar, create division and mistrust and subvert the good-faith process. A cynic might wonder if Mr Rose is simply trying to derail the process that's under way to protect Southland's environment and thereby it's economy, from harm, by delaying or even preventing the regional council from doing its job. I suspect that's something that the majority of Southlanders won't look favourably upon.

John Purey-Cust on Waituna

I'm a great admirer of John's. He's been in the business for many years, knows farming, forestry and the lie of the land and he writes beautifully. Today, in the Southland Times, he says:

"Bryce Johnson (September 20) errs when he says that the declining state of the Waituna has only recently been noticed, last February. Alarm was being voiced much earlier than that, by anglers and lagoon neighbours as well as Environment Southland staff. It has also been a regular item on Southland Fish and Game agendas.
  The difference between then and now is simply one of regime; the then ES council took the view that landowners were to be persuaded, not instructed; now the new council, partly but not only persuaded by the state of Waituna, believes in action.
  I applaud that.
  The heart of the problem - and not just in New Zealand - is the increasing dependence on nitrogen fertilizers and the consequent move into what is, in may ways, hydroponics.
  The short-term advantage to the farmer is immediate and obvious. The disadvantage is that everything downstream becomes the system's toilet.
  The lagoon has become the toilet for the Waituna catchment.
  In contrast to most other catchments, where the issue is more complicated, the only polluter at Waituna is agriculture.
  It therefore becomes an ideal place for the development of safe farming systems.
  Do that, dairy industry, and the world will be grateful.
  Carry on as now in an indifferent and sulky silence and we will continue to trail the world. The forecast is of another 400,000 cows in Southland is not then a happy prospect.

JOHN PUREY-CUST
Gore

We're full!

Southland has full house of dairy farms - report
(Southland Times front-page story)

"Southland cannot handle any more dairy farms.
 A report detailing the state of the environment is due out next month and according to Environment Southland chief executive Ciaran Keogh the region cannot deal with any more effects from intensified farming."

That's a killer opening paragraph right there, reporter Scot MacKay! Perhaps that's why the story's not on-line.

I suspect that once teased out, the story will be that while present practices and the effects of those on the environment make the 'full-house' claim true, changes to those farming ways can allow for the expansion that Fonterra are banking on.
At least that's the message behind the article and Mr Keogh's headline-grabbing claim, in my opinion. He'll have curdled the milk in the coffee of the DairyNZ and Fonterra executives coffee this morning though - the hot-line to his office will be fizzing!
Many Southlanders will be satisfied with the first part of the story, and won't buy the 'we can squeeze more on if we tidy up our act' sub-plot. In fact, they'll likely think we passed the point of fullness long ago. Certainly the wounded Waituna Lagoon broadcasts that message loud and clear. Farmers though, are still adamant that there must be no limit to the number of cows! It's a collision-course situation, in my view, and already there are casualties. The report described in the article by Mr Keogh will be interpreted by many as sure proof that farming is destroying our rivers and lagoons and that while farmers and their agents are beginning to talk the talk, they ain't walking.
"The council has signalled the report is not good news for the region, but will provide a way forward to manage it", reporter Scott reports.
"In terms of runoff from farms we cannot handle any more, in fact in some areas we need to reduce it", Mr Keogh bravely states.
Good man.
We need to hear truth, not platitudes.