Lower Taieri – Wet / Unproductive Areas & Open Drains
Farmers in the lower Taiari / Taieri have highlighted challenges around wet or unproductive paddock areas and were keen to explore opportunities to enhance open drains.
The Healthy Taieri project worked alongside the Regenerating Wetlands Partnership between NZ Landcare Trust and Fonterra which provided funding to support dairy farmers on the Taieri Plains to enhance critical wet areas on farm.
This collaboration resulted in practical improvements including:
- Targeted fencing and plantings in high impact areas e.g. swales to reduce the amount of contaminants (sediment, faecal matter and nitrate) leaving farms and heading downstream.
- Widening and re-shaping open drains and planting with species which will capture sediment and contaminants. (Don’t forget to check if your drain is part of the ORC’s Flood Protection Management Bylaw 2022 before undertaking any significant works on drains on the Taieri Plains – we avoided drains subject to this bylaw, and focused our efforts on other drains).
- Planting and fencing of wet or low-productivity areas within paddocks to boost biodiversity and create shade and shelter for stock.
Information sheets
The resource sheets below provide further guidance on the above enhancements.
What to plant
Plant species suitable to plant in these wet, unproductive areas, or near farm drains on the lower Taiari /Taieri are outlined below.
All on farm work was delivered as part of the Regenerating Wetlands Partnership between NZ Landcare Trust and Fonterra. Funding was provided to support dairy farmers on the Taieri Plains to enhance critical wet areas on farm.