Environment Southland was to begin its winter grazing aerial compliance inspections on Tuesday, with the organisation expecting big improvements from the region’s farmers.
Last winter, three aerial inspections resulted in 68 follow-up site visits, letters of concern to a further 88 property owners, six infringements and two prosecution cases.
A number of others were referred to Environment Southland for advice and support on winter grazing.
Environment Southland chief executive Rob Phillips said last year’s winter grazing practices left a lot to be desired.
Southland Federated Farmers dairy chairman Hadleigh Germann agreed wintering practices in Southland had been disappointing in the past.
When asked his thoughts on the aerial inspections, Germann said Environment Southland had a responsibility to ensure farmers adhered to the rules around how they wintered their stock.
”We really should be operating in a way where we don’t have anything to hide,” he said.
”There’s been a lot of information out there in the last few years and some pressure as well from various groups, that we need to lift our game.
”I think there has been a lift in our game, so I am quite hopeful they are not going to find anything too major, or definitely not widespread anyway.”
There would always be the odd isolated case where someone wasn’t ”keeping up with the game plan”, Germann said.
While driving around the province in the past he had seen wintering practices that could have been improved without a lot of effort or expense.
”Often the biggest wins are quite easy, looking at the direction of grazing a paddock, being aware of where the critical source areas are and putting a bit of thought where baleage needs to be laid out in fields.”
Phillips said Environment Southland’s effort to turn the situation around last year included initiating a hui of industry organisations to formulate a plan to tackle the problem.
The organisations, including DairyNZ, Beef and Lamb, Federated Farmers and the Ministry of Primary Industries, had provided a range of support to farmers.
“There’s been a sustained, region-wide effort to help farmers improve their wintering practice and I’m looking forward to seeing the results in terms of improvement.”
Phillips said Tuesday’s flight was a preliminary one to provide an initial estimation on wintering practices in Southland.
Further compliance flights would be undertaken in July and August.
