New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts

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Improving the economic and environmental performance of a New Zealand hill country farm catchment: 1. Goal development and assessment of current performance

M. B. Dodd

AgResearch Ltd
Ruakura Research Centre
Private Bag 3123
Hamilton 3240, New Zealand

B. S. Thorrold

DairyNZ
Private Bag 3221
Hamilton 3240, New Zealand

J. M. Quinn

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
PO Box 11115
Hamilton 3251, New Zealand

T. G. Parminter

M. E. Wedderburn

AgResearch Ltd
Ruakura Research Centre
Private Bag 3123
Hamilton 3240, New Zealand

Corresponding author: mike.dodd@agresearch.co.nz

Abstract A multi-stakeholder group including land managers, policy agencies and biophysical scientists was established to oversee a catchment scale project examining the economic and environmental performance of a representative North Island hill country catchment (296 ha Mangaotama catchment, Whatawhata) in the western Waikato region of New Zealand. The group first identified goals relevant to achieving a “well managed rural hill catchment”, including viable businesses, healthy ecosystems, protected landscape values, active partnerships, demonstrable environmental performance, and adequate rural services and infrastructure. The current state of the case study catchment was characterised by collecting data on key indicators chosen by the group to assess business viability and ecosystem health. Data included land use capability, vegetation cover, soil fertility, erosion, water quality, aquatic fauna, plant growth, terrestrial biodiversity, livestock enterprise performance, and economic farm surplus. The results were compared with a range of benchmarks, including adjacent catchments in different land use (water quality, biodiversity) and with hill country pastoral sector survey data (livestock performance and profitability). This comparison demonstrated that from both economic and environmental points of view, the catchment farm system was failing to meet the goals set by the management group. That result provided the impetus for the investigation of ways to improve performance.

Keywords catchment; environmental performance; goals; hill country; land-use change

A07030; Online publication date 10 June 2008; Received 1 May 2007; accepted 14 March 2008

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2008, Vol. 51: 127–141
0028–8233/08/5102–0127 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2008

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