New code and farm dairy effluent design standards

New code and farm dairy effluent design standards out for consultation

Industry first standards and a code of practice for the design of farm dairy effluent systems have been released for consultation today.

The dairy industry and the effluent system supplier industry have been working together over the last year, with science and regional council input, to develop new design standards and a code of practice for system design to improve the management of farm dairy effluent.

The standards and the code will assist designers to design systems that enable farm dairy effluent to be correctly applied to the soil.

DairyNZ Strategy and Investment Leader – Sustainability, Dr Rick Pridmore believes the standards and code will complement a variety of actions the industry is involved in to prevent environmental problems by ensuring the systems farmers use are fit for purpose and are operated well.

“Supporting the people who design and install dairy effluent systems with well thought-though standards is an important piece of lifting our industry’s over-all performance in this area,” Dr Pridmore says.

“Farmers need confidence that the people they are contracting to supply effluent services and equipment know the standards effluent systems have to meet, and are able to design systems to meet those standards. The standards and the code will give farmers confidence that a system will be fit for purpose. Then it’s just up to them to operate their system correctly to remain compliant.”

President of the New Zealand Milking and Pumping Trade Association and member of the Farm Dairy Effluent Code of Practice Steering Group, Tim Scott, says the aim is to design and operate effluent systems to a standard so the nutrients in effluent are captured by growing pasture and do not run off into waterways.

“A major aspect of the code has been to set some performance criteria for effluent systems so we better utilise the nutrients in effluent to save farmers money, improve production and reduce environmental impacts,” Mr Scott says.

Irrigation New Zealand Chief Executive Andrew Curtis says this is part of a package of standards, guidelines and training being developed for farmers and effluent system suppliers.

“Ultimately, optimum management of dairy effluent will lead to fewer contaminants entering waterways and improved water quality,” Mr Curtis says.

“It is important we get the code and the standards right, which is why we encourage people to read them and provide us with any feedback,” he says.

The standards and the code will be implemented in May, following any revisions from the consultation period. Training and practice certification of designers and suppliers, as well as raising farmer awareness of the code are key areas the industry will focus on.

Irrigation New Zealand, the New Zealand Milking and Pumping Trade Association, Fonterra, and DairyNZ are committed to implementing the standards and the code.
The four-week consultation period ends April 9.

The draft documents are available for download on www.dairynz.co.nz/effluentcode

ENDS

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