Resilient pastures and sediment: a case study in Hawke's Bay

For many hill-country farms sediment will be a bigger regulatory issue than nitrates over the next decade. A dense, resilient pasture can reduce the risk of insidious sediment loss. Any ecosystem that relies on a few species is fragile. Sowing a single species leads to repeated re-sowing and increasing bare ground to remove competition, increasing the risk of sediment flows. An important issue during regulatory consultation will be establishing a natural, pre-human baseline for forest cover and documenting more recent changes in sediment flows. Hill country cropping and pasture renewal is incompatible with resilient pasture. This is a farmer’s perspective on a diverse and persisting hill country pasture-based system that can make a good return on capital without re-grassing or fodder cropping. Funding of independent research on pasture and fodder systems is essential if farmers are to make good decisions.