It is reasonable to suppose the parties behind proposals to farm 18,000 or so cows under cover in the Mackenzie have done their sums and reckon they are on to a winner. Abe Deworde, who operates a similar (but much smaller) farm in Southland, says he has been housing 500 cattle in cubicle stables for four seasons. Production per hectare has improved and efficiency gains have flowed from his capacity to milk the cows longer each year. But the critics decry what they contend will be undesirable consequences. This, they insist, is a case for Environment Minister Nick Smith to intervene and exercise his powers to “call in” the proposals.

Wide Opposition. The cows would be kept in cubicle stables for 24 hours a day for eight months of the year and 12 hours a day for the remaining four months. The Green Party is among those denouncing this as factory farming which will harm the animals, the surrounding environment and NZ’s image as the provider of clean, green free-range dairy products. Opinions within the Cabinet are mixed, but the PM – before Christmas – expressed his personal reservations. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright, raised land-use consequences in pushing for the farming proposals to be called in. She cited the effects on waterways in an area popular for tourism and recreation. Fonterra’s milk supply manager, Tim Deane, raises different economic impacts. He cautions against undermining the co-operative’s international reputation for free range farming and emphasise the importance of consumer perceptions, saying the type of intensive feed-lot stall-based farming under consideration doesn’t sit well with perceptions of NZ’s pasture-based farming system.

People Power. But Britain is overhauling its food labeling laws to require information about carbon emissions and animal welfare. Rural Affairs Secretary Hilary Benn says more detailed labeling information will change consumer habits and “people power” will create a demand for food which is local, healthy, and produced with minimal environmental disruption. In the US producers are attracting green-minded shoppers too, with labels like “organic” and “naturally raised” and animal welfare groups are pushing for transparency in the marketing of animal products. Hence the implications of the decision Smith must take stretch far beyond the environmental health of the Mackenzie Country.

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