Frustrations with aspects of dairy farming under Otago's new 6A regional water plan and with a computerised modelling system used to monitor dairy effluent were highlighted at a Dunedin hearing yesterday.
Borst Holdings Ltd operates three farms near the Kakanui River, in North Otago, and has applied to the Otago Regional Council, under the water plan, to exceed permitted nitrogen leaching limits over the farms.
Discharging nitrogen to land through dairy effluent is a permitted activity on the farms until April 1, 2020.
After that, nitrogen losses in the nitrogen-sensitive Kakanui-Kauru aquifer area, where the farms are located, must not exceed 20kg of nitrogen a hectare a year to retain permitted activity status.
Borst Holdings does not expect it will be able to reach the required lower nitrogen-loss level by 2020 and is seeking a consent to cover higher levels of nitrogen loss over a 15-year period starting in 2020.
The consent hearing was before two independent commissioners, Dr Brent Cowie and Andrew Fenemor.
Appearing for Borst Holdings, Bridget Irving said farmer Robert Borst had already been working hard to reduce nitrogen leaching, and granting the consent would mean a "win-win'' outcome.
Borst Holdings had been working proactively to make environmental improvements, including fencing off waterways, planting buffer areas and reducing dairy stocking on the Kakanui Valley farms.
Mr Borst said dairy farming was the only occupation he knew and he was "passionate'' about making further improvements.
Effluent monitoring under the water plan made use of an "Overseer'' mathematical model for farm management.
But Mr Borst said there were frustrations with this computer model because as it was updated, requisite nitrogen-loss targets were being revised upwards and becoming harder to achieve.
The consent sought to clarify where the goalposts were and provide the financial security needed to make the capital investment required.
The commissioners heard the Borst Holding farms were significant employers and Mr Borst was coming under some pressure from his bank, given uncertainties arising from the water plan and the dairy downturn.
