How to deal with dirty dairying

A pair of Northland farmers have been fined almost $70,000 for dirty dairying:

Mark Allen Stanaway and his wife Kylie Wendy Stanaway were sentenced recently in Whangarei after they had earlier pleaded guilty to a combined total of 16 charges.

Each had faced eight separate charges relating to dairy effluent discharges, a silage leachate discharge and breaching an abatement notice.

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The offending took place between 22 August and 28 September 2009 and had been “deliberate, or if not deliberate, occasioned by a real want of care, associated with large plural discharges, and exposing a disregard for effects on the environment”.

This wasn't a minor breach; as a result of these polluters' overstocking and failure to manage their waste, they polluted the local streams and the Kaipara Harbour with cowshit. Then, when confronted with it, they tried to blame their farm manager instead. Now, they're pleading poverty over the fines - but if it means they go bankrupt and have to get out of the dairying business, then it will be a win for the environment.