Fert Options with Robin Boom Agronomic Advisory Services

Under the proposed Waikato Regional Council Healthy Rivers Plan Change 1, each farm will have its own Nitrogen Reference Point (referred to as NRP) based on the historical nitrogen leaching value estimated by Overseer for the 2015 or 2016 years, a measurement which has colloquially been referred to as ‘grand-parenting’.

Farmers will not be able to exceed these values for their property in the future and low-leaching farmers are rightly up in arms over this proposal since it will effectively reward historical polluters and punish farmers who have been good environmental stewards.

From what I understand the Combined Stakeholders Group consultation process was essentially hijacked by the dairy and rural professional representatives who advocated for grand-parenting NRPs rather than having a catchment-based or land class-based approach, which in my opinion would be a lot fairer.

The dairy industry advocated grand-parenting as it could see milk production from high nitrogen input systems being targeted, so naturally they wanted to look after their own investments and survival, and the rural professional advocate was largely influenced by his dairy consultant colleagues who love recommending nitrogen.

Farmers incensed

However, my opinion as a rural professional was never canvassed, although I have certainly made my disapproval of grand-parenting known after the fact. Similarly all of my dairy farmer clients who I have spoken to about this were never canvassed for their opinion by Fonterra, and by and large are incensed that NRPs are going to be used like this, as most have not been high users of artificial N.

As a rural professional, I also find myself with a conflict of interest when it comes to environmental compliance as I can see it being a gravy train for rural professionals as farmers will need to employ people like myself to do Farm Environment Plans and Nutrient Budgets.

Consequently I have made the decision not to do these as my conscience tells me the proposal currently on the table with PC1 is just wrong, and I don’t want to make money from something I am in total disagreement about, so don’t want a bar if it.

Environmental stewards

One dairy farming couple who I have provided soil fertility advice for the past 27 years are Graham and Rosemary Davison who farm next to the Waipa River near Otorohanga. Because of their low input system with little artificial nitrogen being applied, their NRP according to Overseer is 17, which is very low compared to most Waikato dairy farms.

The Davisons have been great environmental stewards and their property has magnificent stands of kahikatea trees which they have put into the QE2 Trust, so are protected from being ever cut down. Along the river bank the Davisons, at their own initiative and cost, are in the process of planting 25,000 natives and other plants. Rosemary’s father, the late Arthur Cowan, was a well-known figure in environmental circles and was a farmer conservationist well ahead of his time, and Rosemary has taken on board her father’s values when it comes to caring for the environment.

Last month when I came to take more soil tests for them they expressed concerns that with such a low NRP, when it comes to selling their farm one day in the future, prospective buyers could be put off because of such a low NRP figure.

Impacting land values

Prospective buyers will not be able to increase this, and yet most dairy farms in the catchment are double theirs, averaging 30-40 kgN/ha. I was recently told of one farm nearby which also borders the Waipa River with a NRP of over 70. A huge difference to the Davisons’ figure of 17.

I began advising the Davisons on soil fertility back in 1990 as they were not happy with what their local fertiliser rep was offering, and have embraced my balanced approach to soil fertility, focussing on healthy soil, healthy grass and healthy stock and not being reliant on artificial nitrogen.

Graham has said to me more than once he wouldn’t know where to turn if I was not around, but now it would appear that looking after their soils, not overstocking their farm, not piling on nitrogen nor buying in truckloads of PKE or bulk maize could work against them in the future.

Their farming operation has been highly sustainable and environmentally friendly, producing 1300 kgMS/ha on a pasture based System 2 farm with in-shed feeding. It ticks all the boxes of good stewardship, but now with NRPs and grand-parenting, good historical stewardship could actually devalue their farm.

Robin Boom CPAg, Member of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists, phone 027 444 8764.