Limited-nutrients meeting drawcard

Farming within nutrient limits is proving to be a hot topic for North Canterbury sheep and beef farmers.

More than 120 farmers packed into the Greta Valley Tavern, in the Hurunui district, for a Beef and Lamb New Zealand land environment plan (LEP) workshop on August 17. A second North Canterbury workshop is to be held at the Coalgate Tavern, near Hororata, next week.

Facilitator Tom Fraser was surprised at the turnout at the Greta Valley workshop, but he said those who attended ''left with many questions answered, not always what they had wished for''.

''This is a topic that is probably more important and has the potential to have a greater impact on sheep and beef farms, both management practices and profitability, than any other single event in the past 20 years.

''All farmers, including many `lifestyle farmers', will be required to have their properties entered into Overseer and have a nutrient budget within the next two to three years.''

Dr Fraser said there would be a session on the Overseer model to demonstrate how it worked, what changes might be made in the future and what impact different changes in management had on nutrient outputs.

This session will be run by North Canterbury farmer James Hoban, ''a very experienced user of Overseer'', and a fertiliser representative with experience with the model.

Environment Canterbury principal planning adviser Leo Fietje and principal strategy adviser Ian Brown will present information on timelines and different regulations within the various regional zones.

''This is very important, as all regions are not equal, and it is essential that farmers understand what is important for their own circumstances,'' Dr Fraser said.

Discussion would also be held on two Canterbury farms that had had their nutrient output entered into Overseer to model several scenarios, including what happened to the nutrient output if the farm changed to winter dairy grazing or established 50ha of lucerne.

''Results from these scenarios will be presented and these will give very good examples of what impacts various changes in management may have, as well as management practices that will be able to be put in place to reduce nutrient losses from a property,'' Dr Fraser said.

''The time has come when all farmers need to accept that `farming within a nutrient limit' is a fact of life whether we agree with it or not.

''Being informed and understanding the regulations that will be put in place is a good starting point and this workshop will provide valuable information to all farmers in North Canterbury.''

A Beef and Lamb NZ workshop will be held at the Coalgate Tavern on Tuesday, September 23, from 5pm. A meal will be provided and registration is essential. Email Ian Knowles at: ian.knowles@beeflambnz.com

If you have a question that you would like to put to any of the speakers, please forward it to Tom Fraser, fraserpastoral@gmail.com, to give sufficient time for the speakers to fully research the answers.

- by David Hill 

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