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You may have noticed yesterday that Beef+Lamb NZ came out publicly alongside Forest & Bird and other organisations to take a stance on the Government’s Essential Freshwater package that challenged what they described as “intensive farming”.
We were surprised and disappointed because we work closely with Beef+Lamb NZ. It’s crucial that we work together because our sectors are intertwined – up to 40% of the beef in New Zealand comes from dairy farmers - in fact every dairy farmer in New Zealand
is a member of Beef+Lamb NZ.
The best way to address water quality challenges across New Zealand is by working together, both between rural sectors and with our urban cousins, who also have work to do. We have had questions from dairy farmers as to what this move was all about – frankly
we can’t answer that question for Beef+Lamb, and suggest if you want an answer, you should take that up directly with them.
From the outset, DairyNZ have tried to work constructively with other sector bodies – including Beef+Lamb NZ - to act in the best interests of New Zealand farmers. We’ll continue to do so.
Addressing the issue of water quality will take more than a narrow focus on nitrogen. Other contaminants driving water quality issues include sediment, phosphorus and microbes such as
E.coli.
In fact what we do know is that the dairy sector may only account for less than 10% of the total rural sediment loading into New Zealand waterways. More on that later, as part of our Essential Freshwater Submission.
The dairy sector has voluntarily implemented programmes such as the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord that have resulted in the adoption of mitigations across dairy farms and genuine positive impacts on water quality.
It's a shame some organisations don't give dairy farmers more credit. In their search for a scapegoat, they have lost sight of the real prize. We can only resolve our national freshwater challenges by taking a reasoned and balanced look at the causes of water
issues in New Zealand. Above all, we need to work together.
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