The president of Federated Farmers says regions need to consider solutions other than suspending dairy farming activity to reduce its environmental impact.
William Rolleston spoke last night at a public meeting in Geraldine in South Canterbury about water management.
The Waikato branch of Federated Farmers has called for an open discussion about the possibility of a moratorium on dairying.
But Dr Rolleston said that was too simplistic a solution.
"If you look down at the catchments around where we are we've got, from a nutrient point of view, one red zone and two orange zones.
"So those orange zones have some capacity to move in terms of having more intensification in those areas."
Dr William Rolleston Photo: Supplied
Dr Rolleston said the increased water storage and irrigation that was needed to farm dairy cows in low-rainfall regions such as Canterbury, could also be used to top up aquifers.
