Federated Farmers: Dowsing public burn off concerns

Federated Farmers views planned, controlled burning, in certain circumstances, as a pragmatic land-management tool.

In recent weeks, a couple of controlled burn-offs in Otago have had undesired outcomes.

As a result, Federated Farmers has had calls from members of the public questioning why such burn-offs occur, with the assumption that farmers solely undertake these burn-offs for financial reasons.

While burning is important to keep land in production and to maintain access to areas of productive land, there are a number of other, equally important, reasons for 'land management fires' or 'controlled burn-offs' on hill and high country land.

Controlled burn-offs are a very effective way of removing regenerating or invading woody vegetation, such as wilding pines and other pest plants. They enable grasses, tussock and other ground-cover plants to grow and there is a growing body of evidence that controlled fires can reduce the chance of erosion in hill and high country areas.

It isn't just a case of lighting up and hoping all is well. Farmers carefully plan to manage these fires in a controlled way, aiming for a safe, low-intensity burn within a specified target area.

There are also a number of legislative and regulatory requirements that farmers must comply with when undertaking such burning, including the Forests & Rural Fires Act 1977, the Conservation Act 1987 and district and regional council plans.

The Rural Fire Authority puts out a range of good information and guidelines for those undertaking controlled burning and a considerable amount of thought goes into the location, timing, extent and intensity of the fires. Further information from the Rural Fire Authority can be found on their website.

From a farming viewpoint, undertaking planned, controlled burning, in certain circumstances, is still a pragmatic land-management tool. There is some risk involved, but farmers have every reason to manage this risk and they put in a lot of effort to do so.

Without the ability to use controlled fires as a land-management tool, there is a much higher risk of wild fires, which tend to be intense, unpredictable and quite devastating to people, property and our native biodiversity -- an outcome that is good for nobody.