The recent release of the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord project provided some welcome news for New Zealanders concerned about the quality of the country's waterways.
The Water Accord update shows good environmental progress by dairy farmers who have now fenced off more than 97% of waterways.
The Water Accord is a voluntary project led by the industry to improve farming practices and water quality. The year three update shows a range of targets have been achieved, including stock exclusion from 26,197km of measured waterways - the equivalent of Auckland to Chicago and back.
Equally impressive is the 99.4% of regular stock crossing points on dairy farms having bridges or culverts to protect local water quality and more than $10 million spent on environmental stewardship and farmer support programmes.
More than 9500 nutrient budgets were processed and nitrogen information provided to farmers, representing 83% of the industry.
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says dairy farmers deserve credit for the leadership they have shown in recent years. There has been a major reduction in pollution entering lakes and rivers from dairy sheds, factories and town effluent systems.
The updated accord even found favour with the Green Party whose MPs say fencing dairy stock from waterways and bridging stock
crossings point to the new normal. Hard work by farmers has lifted the bar in terms of what business as usual looks like on farms.
Fencing, stock crossing and having nutrient management plans are the first steps in what needs to be done to clean up and protect the rivers, lakes and aquifers.
But the Greens also say there needs to be a closer look at the source of pollution - particularly cow urine - and a reduction in the the number of cows on the land and in nutrient pollution. Water quality cannot be protected when there are 6.6 million cows, intensive fertiliser use and huge demand for irrigation.
Federated Farmers took aim at ''greenie groups'' seeking to bolster their fundraising campaigns by using dairy farmers as their favourite target. Dairy industry chairman Andrew Hoggard says the updated accord underlines how seriously dairy farmers take their environmental responsibilities.
No-one is perfect and no-one is claiming there is no problem with dairy's impact on waterways. But the latest report shows the strenuous and ongoing efforts the vast majority of dairy farmers are making to lessen their environmental footprint.
New Zealand has a heavy reliance on dairying for overseas earnings and generating income within dairy farming communities. When Fonterra's payout dropped from an unsustainable high, there were real fears New Zealand's economy would slump into recession. Debt levels on dairy farms were high and some farmers were forced to go to interest-only loans or sell.
Understandably, environmental groups will take up the cudgels for clean waterways. Most New Zealanders want the clean image of the country's tourist posters to be real, not imagined. It is likely to be impossible to return waterways to their once-pristine condition but progress is being made.
The Government has generated new rules, standards and monitoring which did not exist 10 years ago. This includes new regulations to keep livestock out of waterways to reduce E.coli and improve water quality. Achieving the goal of 90% swimmability by 2040 is a long-term project because water quality issues have built up over decades and there is no quick fix.
Federated Farmers and environmentalists need to resile from their entrenched positions of total disdain for each other and recognise both have a large part to play in the future of the country's fresh waterways.
Attack is not the best method of defence, in this case. Dairy farmers have made huge strides in improving the quality of water. There is some way to go yet and environmentalists need to acknowledge the hard work already done and be supportive of measures still to be made.
