Robert Kane thinks New Zealand should do better with the way riparian strips are managed.
The Tapanui farmer said fencing off strips of riverbank to exclude livestock created a weed problem, made access impossible for the public and did not stop erosion.
He has come up with another method, which he saw while attending a recent world Hereford conference in Scandinavia.
Farmers there fenced off 30m- to 40m-wide strips and lightly grazed the land to suppress weeds.
He intended adopting the practice on his Westholm farm, which has a 4km boundary with the Pomahaka River.
The key was to occasionally lightly graze the strip, which he would do with Hereford cattle behind a two-wire fence.
Controlling willows on the edge and banks of rivers was also a goal.
Mr Kane said the willows on the inside of bends captured river silt which put pressure from the current on the opposite bank, causing it to erode.
They had to move fence lines several times in recent years because of this kind of erosion.
Fewer weeds should provide better access for the public, Mr Kane said.