"Dairy farming is a very leaky process,”
says NIWA physical chemist Bob Wilcock. Using results from nutrient budget modelling, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) reported in 2008 that the average nitrogen lost from the soil on dairy farms was 39 kilograms per hectare per year, compared with 12 kilograms for deer farms and 8 kilograms for sheep and beef farms. Substantial quantities of nutrients, sediments, and faecal bacteria can wash into pastoral streams, particularly on steep country, during rainstorms.
Click on the link below for the full article. This is very relevent information for all concerned about caring for our catchments.
http://www.niwa.co.nz/news-and-publications/publications/all/wa/vol.-18-no.1-july-2010/rivers
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