Farm Environment Plan

Farm Details: The Willows

Contacts

Farm Owner
D.J. and S.E. Mathieson
3971 Hampden-Palmerston Rd
RD2 Palmerston 9482

Farm Operator
Liz and Brent Hamilton
190 Island Stream Rd,
Maheno
027 568 8942

Physical address:
190 Island Stream Rd,
Maheno

Description:

Total property area: 122ha dairy farm.

Effective Area: 107ha

K-Line Irrigation Area: 105.5ha

Effluent: 78ha

Consents:

• Effluent Storage: permitted activity.
  Drop Test, DESC and Visual Inspection in progress with RDA Consulting.
  Effluent Application land use consent: in progress with RDA Consulting.
  Effluent Management Plan

• Winter Grazing Consent: all winter grazing on The Willows is a permitted activity. Freshwater Farm Plan to be certified at earliest opportunity.

• Surface Water Take Permit 2010.060

Irrigation Management

Irrigation Design

No new irrigation has been installed.

Irrigation Scheduling

An in-ground soil moisture meter is used to measure soil moisture before irrigation is started, or restarted after rain to ensure soil moisture deficit can accommodate the irrigation application as determined by bucket testing.

The soils under The Willows are poorly or imperfectly drained but they have suitable Readily Available Water for K-Line irrigation which is on a ten day rotation. The majority of soil is Waitohi with Wakanui and Templeton at the eastern end of the farm.

Waitohi soil has 54mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 27mm.

Wakanui soil has 55mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 27mm.

Templeton soil has 60mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 30mm.

Irrigation applications are managed mostly by Brent and sometimes by Liz and are recorded in a book along with maintenance and rainfall.

Irrigation Water Optimisation

Brent has done the NOIC irrigation managers training. Irrigation New Zealand training resource is available and an operations manual for K-Line as well as the installation video are available for training any staff.

K-Lines are shifted across the slope on the hill, but most paddocks are flat and CSA's are a bigger risk. Lines are proactively turned off where there is risk of run off or ponding. Individual pods are having taps installed to turn off individual sprinklers when pulled across a CSA.

Operating Procedures

1. Check forecast.

2. Measure soil moisture for irrigation trigger.

3. Check soil temperature when considering irrigation in August and in May.

4. If above conditions allow then start irrigation.

5. Record irrigation in book.

6. Check for leaks or other failures.

Incident Report Procedure

1. Irrigation is monitored between 5am and 5pm daily. CSA's are monitored for run off in passing.

2. When a leak, run off or ponding is discovered shut water off to leaking line.

3. Source resources needed such as parts, digger etc.

4. Repair, pressure test and continue to monitor before backfilling.

5. Record in maintenance book.

Maintenance

Preseason checks are made for broken sprinklers and joiners.

Light maintenance is carried out and recorded in the  irrigation book.

Heavier maintenance is undertaken by Waterforce.

Bucket Tests are carried out to assess performance of the K Line at three places.

End of season checks include draining lines, detaching K-Lines from hydrants and moving to fence lines, and parking pivots in wind safe spots. 

Soils and Nutrients

• The Willows dairy is managed to minimise the amount of nutrient that escapes the farm and becomes a pollutant, and to maximise the nutrient that stays within the root zone of the plants as a resource. 

• Critical Source Areas are managed by only grazing when dry, using a 5m temporary buffer if wet, and monitoring for run off.

• The aim is to maintain good soil structure by using the relevant cultivation practices for the given situation, and minimise the period of soil exposure to wind and rain erosion.

• P applications don't exceed 100kg P/ha and not spread in Jun or July. Waterways are avoided and run off points are monitored.

• Minimum tillage cultivation is used where soil conditions allow, and if full cultivation is necessary slopes are worked across. Steep areas are avoided where possible and weather forecasts are considered when deciding on cultivation timing. Care is taken not to work soil into fine aggregate sizes and a 5m fenced buffer is maintained to waterways. There is minimal delay between cultivation and sowing to minimise the time that soil is exposed.

• Waterways are protected by fencing, vegetative strips and engineered concrete stock crossings.

• Pugging prevention is achieved by giving larger breaks in wet conditions and cows are allowed to leave longer residuals. Young grass is grazed only briefly and in dry conditions only to minimise damage to the softer soil.

• An understanding of nutrient loss is gained from Oceania nutrient budget 

• Overseer & Nutrient Budgets:
  2022-23 Overseer

• Soil Type:
  S-Map
  Waitohi
  Wakanui
  Templeton

• Nutrient decisions are informed by agronomist recommendations, and soil tests.

  • Recommendations 20xx

• Tracmap proof of placement is used to record fertiliser applications and is available on request.

• A winter grazing plan mitigates risk while on crop.

Effluent

See effluent management plan.

Winter Grazing

See winter grazing plan.

Waterway and CSA Management

• Riparian planting has been planned and undertaken at the pond by Muldrews Road. 

• Well established trees line Island Stream with good riparian margins.

• Stock crossings are engineered to divert nutrients away from the waterway.

• All waterways are fenced.

• Stock are temporarily fenced from CSA's in wet conditions.

• Tracks, troughs and gateways are maintained to minimise their loss of nutrients and sediment. Water tables are maintained to reduce erosion risk. 

Point Source Management

Pit silage is not used. Any ensiled feed is to be individual or tube wrapped baleage.

Offal: Dead stock are buried in a timely way and are not left in sight of the road. In accordance with regional council requirements, dead stock are buried:

• a minimum of 100m from any wells that supply water for domestic drinking or livestock

• a minimum of 50m from any waterway, including lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands and groundwater

• a minimum of 50m from the closest property boundary

• in an area free from ponding, flooding, or erosion

• away from any areas used for offal pits within the past five years

• away from any areas of cultural, historical, or conservation significance

The present offal pit is located on a high and dry knob 1,770m from the nearest water way and 170m from the nearest boundary. 

Waste and by product: only steel and concrete is disposed of by burying on farm in a location where flood waters will not cause it to wash away.

• Household rubbish is disposed of by wheelie bin, or dropping to a transfer station.

• Plastics and other chemical products are not burned.

• Greenwaste, cardboard, and other non-chemical product may be burned in accordance with fire season and ORC requirements.

• Bale wrap, and chemical containers are recycled. Only a minimum of chemical is used to reduce the amount of toxins stored on farm.

• Needles and sharps are collected in a sharps bin and disposed of by the vets.

• Sick or injured animals are collected for pet food unless immediate euthanasia is required.

• Soil, fill and stones are used elsewhere on farm for development.

• Oil is captured in a container and disposed of at the transfer station.

Greenhouse Gas

• Overseer 2022-23