Managing erosion on my farm

What we know

Approximately 252,000 hectares of Hawke’s Bay hill country has been identified as being high risk of erosion.

It is estimated that this land produces on average 3,272,686 tonnes of sediment into the region’s waterways every year.  That’s 136,000 truck and trailer loads or 1090 Olympic sized swimming pools full of sediment per year.

Erosion can negatively impact farms. It can represent a loss of current and future potential productivity both on the farm. Sedimentation also impacts water quality within the region and the biodiversity (both aquatic and terrestrial) that depends upon it.

What can I do on my farm ?

• Identify areas of erosion-prone land.
• Plant trees in paddocks. Pole planting can reduce erosion by up to 80 percent. Trees can also help diversify farm income and add additional value through timber products, stock feed and honey (as examples). 
• Fence and plant retired marginal land. Closed canopy forest can be up to 16 times more effective at preventing landslides than pasture.