Council gives Waikato dairy farmers a pat on the back

Waikato Regional Council is praising the region’s dairy farmers for their environmental performance during the gas supply crisis of the past week which saw millions of litres of milk dumped in the Waikato.

It was announced yesterday that gas supplies had been resumed.

During the previous week, the council urged farmers to ensure that dumped milk didn’t get into waterways, where it is extremely toxic as it strips oxygen from the water, killing aquatic life.

It turned out that the council only received four reports of milk in waterways.

The council’s compliance and education manager Rob Dragten said that given the region had more than 4000 dairy farmers it was great to have only four reported cases of milk in water during the supply crisis.

“Waikato farmers deserve a big pat on the back for the way they have responded in this situation.

“To have less than a handful of reports of milk in water is a tribute to the big effort farmers have put into doing the right thing.”