Report on Adoption of
Environmental Best
Practice on Deer Farms
Prepared by Janet Gregory, NZ Landcare Trust, for Sustainable Farming Fund Project 13-053 June 2014
Outline
This report covers the first year (1 July 2013 - 31 June 2014) of a 3 year Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) project to increase adoption of environmental best practice on deer farms. The project builds on previous work with the deer industry through the review and launching of the NZ Deer Farmers’ Landcare Manual in 2012 so that more of this best practice is utilised in planning and adoption of best practice. It also builds on knowledge gained and relationships built through participation in the Deer Farmers Environmental Awards which are held bi-annually and recognise best practice on farms.
This project was also an opportunity to assist deer farmers to meet the challenges of the new regional Water Plans being introduced and adopted throughout the country following the National Policy Statement for Freshwater.
Key funding partners in addition to the Ministry of Primary Industries include Deer Industry NZ (DINZ), NZ Deer Farmers Association (NZDFA), Hawkes Bay Regional Council (HBRC) and NZ Landcare Trust (NZLT).
Additional partners providing in kind time include Beef+ Lamb NZ (B+LNZ), Ballance AgriNutrients, Waikato Regional Council (WRC), Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC), Environment Canterbury (ECAN) and Environment Southland (ES). These Councils were the only ones approached at the time as that was the regions where the Focus Farm properties were based and our emphasis was to work through the Focus Farm programmes.
Management Group
A Management Group was set up in July 2013 with representatives from the different organisations mentioned above, and due to the geographical spread it was decided to communicate by conference calls approximately every 2 months with Janet Gregory hosting the calls. Members of the group include
Tony Pearse, Amy Wills DINZ
John Somerville, Kris Orange, Grant Charteris NZDFA
Gary Walton, Mark Harris B+LNZ
Jim Risk Ballance AgriNutrients
Bala Tikkisetty WRC
John Patterson BOPRC
Ian Lyttle ECAN
Gary Morgan ES
Janet Gregory NZLT
I attended Focus Farm days in Canterbury and the Waikato, attended the Next Generation workshop in Queenstown (August 2013) and the Management Group to identify priority activities for workshops and seminars that would benefit deer farmers. The fencing of
waterways was identified as the biggest issue for deer farmers throughout NZ. Although this project couldn’t help with direct funding, Tony Pearse said he was happy to have discussions with Gallaghers to see if they could assist in any way.
In the meantime the Management Group decided that a focus on Land Environment Plans using the B+LNZ Land Environment Plan toolkit in Year 1, would provide farmers with the
best planning tool for identifying where best practice was already adopted, what issues they had on farm that needed action, and a method of prioritising tasks that could be
incorporated into their farm budgets. At the same time B+LNZ had reviewed their LEP and were going through a process of re-launching the toolkit and hosting 60 workshops
throughout NZ during 2013-2014. They were willing to contribute workshops in the 5 focus farm areas as part of their in-kind contribution.
Year One Activities
E Network for Next Generation
As mentioned above I attended the inaugural Next Generation workshop in Queenstown and took a session on environmental issues. This was an initiative supported by DINZ and the NZDFA to encourage 50 younger deer farmers in the industry and an opportunity for them to get together to develop networks, relations with each other and gain information on a number of key topics affecting the industry. Other speakers covered financial, deer research and genetics, velvet industry and animal health.
Their main method of communication was through email so as part of developing an e-network for younger farmers it was agreed to develop a monthly email to this group. A monthly Best Practice Tips email was started in October 2013 to the group that attended the workshop. This needs reviewing as there is also an email that goes to all NZDFA members called the Stagline and it might be more efficient to place the Best Practice Tips in this so it goes to everyone. This Next Generation Group also had a workshop at the 2014 Deer
Industry conference and one of the recommendations from this was to have more mentoring so we can look at how these actions can be implemented and improved upon in Year 2, as the direct farmer to farmer contact is a good way of implementing environmental best practice for different issues.
E Network for remote farmers
Communication with some remote farmers is limited. Some of this is hampered by distance to attend field days or events organised by DINZ or the DFA. Some of it is the technology in slow broadband networks or the aversion to technology. Some farmers aren’t on email. As one step to have more dialogue with remote farmers on adoption of environmental best practice we have targeted the group which does use electronic technology in the way of emails, websites and other social media.
I liaised with Willie Coates, a previous entrant to the Deer Farmers Environment Awards who lives on the West Coast of the South Island. He had discussed his dilemma during judging about the lack of deer farmers in his neighbourhood and the distance he would have to travel to attend a field day or focus group event. He was still keen to get up to date information on increasing productivity and on adopting best practice on his farm.
The E-network could include a web site page which anyone can view and this should be on the Deer Industry Hub website. The farmer would be able to put in the size of property, stock, crops etc., what they were trying to achieve, and current issues.
Topics would include productivity and environment targets.
They would include their weekly grass growth and feed on hand, feed bought in etc. The site would create a feed wedge that everyone can look at and comment on their stocking rate, weight of stock, crop and anything else. This would help to assist farmers in the productivity of deer and environmental sustainability. There would be past discussions to view, present and future (and discussions that are coming up that you can add to).
‘Environmental’ topics will include topics covered in a LEP; Farm mapping, Phosphorus, erosion, faecal, stock exclusion, nitrogen, productive capability, other issues). We will look at inviting ‘experts’ to make suggestions on improving management practices.
The proposed network needs to be trialled by a small group of interested farmers to see if it works and is of benefit to them so that we can make any necessary adjustments before it is made available national. A second attempt needs to be made in Year 2 to identify a group of farmers who would be interested in this, by using a direct approach to farmers that are further away from focus farms and not involved in advanced parties.
LEP workshops and field days
Topics in the LEP include mapping, and risk assessment of Phosphorous and water quality; erosion; faecal bacteria and water quality; Productive capability (nutrient levels, soil
management, weeds and animal pests; and nitrogen and water quality. Tasks are then listed, prioritised and budget for, resulting in an action plan being developed by the farmer.
Following consultation with farmers these workshops and combined field days were planned for the following dates
25 March, Kelly Bennett’s, at Geraldine 27 March at Mendip Station, Cheviot 1 April at Bill Robinson’s at Cambridge
3 April at Richard Lawson’s in Central Hawkes Bay 16 April at David Steven’s in Southland
However due to the drought in the Waikato it was decided to postpone the Waikato until later in 2014 which would allow for enough recovery time. Discussions will start with farmers shortly to organise a workshop there.
I had participated in a B+LNZ Train the Trainer workshop at Invermay in January 2014 so worked with the facilitators nominated by B+LNZ to organise and run the workshops with the field day in the afternoon. The facilitators include Nicola Chisholm (AgFirst, Alexandra), James Hoban (ECAN), Ben Harker (AgFirst Pastoral, Napier) and Murray Harris, (Dunedin). These workshops were also the first ones that were run under the revised B+LNZ
programme. Staff from local councils, Ballance AgriNutrients and B+LNZ also attended the days and provided information on local rules and initiatives, nutrient budgeting and a link to local programmes.
We had 47 farmers attend these workshops and prepare LEP’s. Follow up has been identified as important to make sure these actions are implemented at key times and to report on progress and this is planned for August and December 2014. Feedback following the days was good and farmers also appreciated the field day component to have the on site discussions on implementing relevant actions. Unfortunately bad weather on the Geraldine day meant we had to postpone the field day in the afternoon, but the local Branch is
planning to have a field day later in the year to look at LEP’s and how they are implemented. Local networks and DFA members encouraging other farmers to attend was vital in getting farmers to attend.
Seminars
These were originally planned as science and technology seminars related to each focus topic for the year, thus in Year One it was hoped to showcase science and technology that could assist farmers with management practices on farm, again located in the focus farm areas and building on from the earlier LEP workshops.
These were planned for June 2014, following feedback from farmers earlier in the year that this would be the best time to run them.
Following emails and phone discussions with scientists this was reduced to 3 seminars at North Canterbury, Southland and Hawkes Bay.
It was actually quite difficult to identify who the different scientists were, who were
undertaking different projects that related to land management issues or water on farm, and gaining information about their projects.
There were no scientists willing to attend the workshops as the majority were taking leave or on sabbatical, or their project was too early to report on to farmers.
Scientists also expect to be paid for this work rather than include it as part of their extension component of an overall project.
The focus then changed to different businesses in the technology, animal health, and safety areas that were keen to be part of the seminars. This provided a cross section of information that would benefit farmers in managing their properties.
Unfortunately I had to cancel the North Canterbury seminar 2 days out, as we only had 4 registrations. It was found that using the DINZ email network was more effective than using local networks for circulating information about the day but it also highlighted the need to get the information out well in advance, at least a month. Discussions are continuing to combine with Beef + Lamb NZ to co-host a seminar in this area at a later date, and use additional networks for advertising the day.
Speakers at the seminars included Southland
Chris Smith, AgResearch Phosphorous loss during winter grazing Nicky King, On Farm Safety Farm safety planning and regulations James McKenzie, Gallagher Farm tools for recording stock
Colin Brown, TracMap Variable rate fertiliser for pasture based systems Tom Sarjant, Vet South Animal Health Plans
Dave Lawrence Parasites, drenches and deer Hawkes Bay
Mike Miners, AgHub Mapping, nutrient management recording and soil monitoring Dr Tony Davoren, Hydro Services Optimising irrigation with variable soils
Stu Bradburg, Precision Irrigation
Bronwyn Muir, On Farm Safety Farm safety planning and regulations Gretchen Bunney, AgRecord Farm software to improve record keeping Douglas Carr, TracMap Variable rate fertiliser for pasture based systems Richard Hilson, Vet Services HB Animal health plans
30 farmers attended these two seminars with very good feedback, with farmers from the Waikanae area travelling to attend the day in Central Hawkes Bay.
Videos
The filming for the 5 short Youtube type videos has been completed with Hawkes Bay farmers and features Richard Hilson, Tim Aitken, Grant Charteris, and Richard Lawson, with the fifth video focusing on animal health plans. The final production work will be completed by Abby Davidson, NZ Landcare Trust, Hamilton, and will be made available through the DINZ and NZ Landcare Trust websites during the next month.
Abby Davidson filming Grant Charteris
Additional benefits advantages work Water Quality Committee
With a Water Quality Committee formed by DINZ and the NZDFA I have also been able to provide advice as on good management practices and through the project help keep this group up to date with changes and implications of the different Water Plans as they have been produced.
Cervetec Conference
I was also invited to the Cervetec (deer vets) conference in Queenstown from 26-28 May 2014 to talk on the project and the LEP workshops we had run. Many best management practices also improve animal health so I plan to work with vets to produce a factsheet that highlights the environment and animal health benefits and their subsequent economic benefits.
Year 2 Focus
The focus for Year 2 is on nutrient management particularly nutrient budgets, nutrient management plans and the use of Overseer. This will start with facilitating a workshop with 13 Canterbury deer farmers in conjunction with DINZ and AgResearch in September 2013. In reviewing the first years programme I believe it is better to try and get an even spread of activities throughout the years as it not only makes it easier to organise them but a spread will enable farmers to attend rather than everything condensed into the last 3 months of the year.
The focus for Year 3 hasn’t been confirmed at this stage but could include planning for adverse events.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the input and support from DINZ staff, particularly Tony and Amy. Along with NZDFA members Kris Orange, John Somerville and Grant Charteris, their knowledge and support has been critical in organising events, promotion and getting farmers to attend events.
The use of the B+LNZ LEP and their support in organising the workshops has been hugely beneficial as many of the deer farmers are also sheep and beef farmers.
The Hawkes Bay Regional Council have provided excellent support and also arranged for Richard McDowell from AgResearch to attend the LEP workshop in April, so there was very good discussion on reducing the loss of nutrients by implementing different management practices. They also had 3 staff attend the workshop and this endorsed the strong
relationship they have with local deer farmers.
Ballance AgriNutrients were also excellent enabling staff to be present at each of the workshops for the whole day. Their information and advice around gathering data required for nutrient budgets was highly valuable.
I would also like to thank the other members of the Management Group for their
contribution to the project so far. Having local knowledge of issues, events and challenges in each region is important in achieving the objectives of the project and I look forward to working with everyone over the next two years.
Janet Gregory NZ Landcare Trust
