Greens' Anti-farming Water Policy

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Greens' Anti-farming Water Policy

The Greens Have Pledged that, by 2017, Intensive Agricultural Operations Will Have to Permanently Fence Their Waterways

The Green Party's motto must be "beat a farmer a day", according to Federated Farmers environment spokesman Ian Mackenzie.

Reacting to the Greens' farming and rivers policy, Mackenzie said a large proportion of it was a copy of the National Party's policy.

The Greens have pledged that, by July 1, 2017, intensive agricultural operations will have to permanently fence their waterways. Non-intensive farms with cattle would be able to use temporary fencing, such as electric. The fences would be set back from the waterways, with plants providing a buffer in between.

Existing fences will be "grandfathered" or left in place but all new ones would have to be of a set standard.

"Fencing livestock out of rivers and planting riverbanks has numerous economic benefits for farming: less stock loss in wet areas, lower vet bills, reduced costs for digging drains, weed control in riparian areas and fertiliser costs, increased land values, and better pasture quality," Greens co-leader Russel Norman said.

"But fencing dairy cows out of streams is a token gesture if you stop at that, as National has done. The key is ensuring the fences are setback from streams to provide a buffer zone of vegetation."

Under the policy, farmers could get carbon credits for the CO 2 sequestered by planting on their riparian strip and would receive an incentive to get started, with a $100 million fund over three years.

A working group of experts would be created to look at other types of extensive farming.

"The Greens are quite clearly anti-farming and are attacking extensive as well as intensive agriculture," Mackenzie said. "Their working group will consist of [Massey University freshwater ecologist] Mike Joy, [Green MP] Eugenie Sage and couple of others and they'll make their own decisions."

The dairy industry had "pretty much" fenced off their waterways.

Source: Stuff

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