Taking care of our environment is a priority – explore below to find out more about what you can do to take care of your farm environment.
Environmental management
Holding on to soil
Some soil – or sediment – in a stream is natural. But, if sediment levels get too high, it can disrupt ecosystems and kill freshwater species. It’s also a major source of phosphorus, because phosphate sticks to soil particles.
Improving biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plant and animal life in a particular habitat. As a general rule - the more diversity, the healthier that environment.
Making the most of nutrients
Nutrients are essential for both plants and animals, but too many nutrients can be a significant problem, particularly when it comes to their impact on waterways.
Managing stock near water
Agricultural and horticultural land occupy more than 40% of New Zealand, meaning there is significant pressure on farmers to manage the effects of their land use on water quality – and that includes managing stock near water.
Dung and waterways
Dung – particularly in water – is bad news. Faecal bacteria and pathogens can cause disease in people. Faecal contamination is monitored using E. coli (Escherichia coli) as an “indicator” organism. E. coli is a type of bacteria commonly found in the guts of warm-blooded mammals (including people) and birds.
Stream health
Freshwater ecosystem health includes a waterway’s aquatic life, physical habitat, water quality and water flow patterns. This helps determine the overall state of the freshwater system. There are a range of indicators of ecosystem health in a waterway which include stream life, water quality and habitat.
From the Knowledge Hub
Summary Technical assessment of the impacts of the NPS-FM 2020 national bottom lines
- Freshwater
Technical assessment of the impacts of the NPS-FM 2020 national bottom lines
- Freshwater
E. coli loss to water from sheep and beef farms
- Freshwater
Nitrogen loss to water from sheep and beef farms
- Freshwater