Dairy farmers urged to keep stock off the green stuff

Eating your greens may be one of the world's oldest health tips, but when you throw cows and trucks into the mix it becomes something a lot less appealing.

While consuming Southland's nutrient rich pastures makes cows and their young healthy and, in turn, provides for internationally renowned dairy products, it's the other products which are causing Environment Southland concern.

They are now reminding farmers bringing their herds home from winter grazing to take steps that will prevent effluent from spilling on the region's roads.

Environment Southland has gone on the offensive this year following increasing complaints from motorists.

Two companies have been issued with infringement notices and a third given a formal warning after incidents earlier in the year.

Statistics show 120,000 cows were trucked to winter grazing in places like Northern Southland in late May and early June, requiring between 2500 and 3000 trucks.

These animals are now on their way back.

Environment Southland has brokered agreements to set up temporary dump stations around the region, which would enable trucks to empty their effluent tanks part way through journeys if necessary, but most trips between grazing blocks and home farms did not pass these.

Hence the best way to mitigate the situation is for farmers to take responsibility for standing their stock before transport, Senior Land Sustainability Officer Gary Morgan said.

"Anyone who's ever driven behind a stock truck will know it [effluent] pours out the back, it's a safety issue and it can get into drains," Mr Morgan said.

"The best practice is to keep them off the swedes and grass for 12 hours and it binds them up before they get on the truck."

While 24 hours was ideal, Mr Morgan said, animal welfare also had to be taken into consideration.

"If you've got cows in calf you don't want to stress them out too much, just give them a bit of hay and baleage and it will mitigate the problem."

Nationally, Federated Farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry have endorsed the concept of a 12-hour stand-off for stock, although this is yet to be included in the Animal Welfare Code.

"Most farmers understand that it's standard practice. The trouble is there's so much movement with trucks coming and going, they're just flat stick unless the graziers are well organised, know when the trucks are coming and can plan ahead."

Earlier this year, trucking companies and Environment Southland developed a stock declaration card which requires farmers to confirm stock have been stood off green feed for at least 12 hours before loading.

The cards came into use in May, before stock were moved to winter grazing.

A transport industry representative told Environment Southland last month about 40% of his clients had stood their animals prior to loading, during the mass movement of stock to grazing at the start of winter.

This was a noticeable improvement on previous years, he said.