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