Federated Farmers North Otago dairy chairman steps down

Lyndon Strang

Federated Farmers North Otago dairy chairman Lyndon Strang has stood down to focus on water quality matters.

At the federation's recent provincial annual meeting, Mr Strang did not seek re-election to the role he has held for six years.

He has been replaced by Jared Ross, who has stepped up from chairing the sharemilkers' section. Grant Tremewan is the new sharemilkers' chairman.

Mr Strang said he was ''very passionate about the water quality side of things'' and wanted to spend more time with Noslam (North Otago Sustainable Land Management).

It had made good progress holding environmental awareness workshops and field days, and he wanted to ''continue the momentum''.

Keeping efforts local was essential, he had realised. There was no ''one-size-fits-all'' solution for improving water quality.

Each property needed an individual approach to suit its geography and land use, Mr Strang said.

Farmers were also at various stages of preparedness to meet new environmental regulations. He was ''really keen'' to help them make progress.

Mr Strang had told Federated Farmers he was available if any water quality work arose.

''North Otago is in a unique position as a province, as we border two regional councils.''

Mr Ross was very experienced on the Environment Canterbury side, and Mr Strang would brief him on Otago Regional Council matters.

Central Rural Life