DairyNZ Says New Scientific Data Highlights The Success Of Efforts To Improve Surface Water Quality Across Five New Zealand Catchments

DairyNZ says new scientific data highlights the success of efforts to improve surface water quality across five New Zealand catchments. As part of a Our Land and Water study to analyse historical data, DairyNZ’s water quality science team, in collaboration with AgResearch and Lincoln University, revisited dairy farms in the South Taranaki, Waikato, Canterbury, Southland and West Coast catchments to assess whether on-farm actions had helped improve water quality over time. Researchers found that, over the 20-year monitoring period, 70% of in-stream water quality trend directions were improving or showed no change. The median levels of most contaminants in water had also decreased, due to farmers implementing good management practices such as improved effluent management and stock exclusion.