New Zealand farmers and wetlands

Abstract

This research focuses on how New Zealand farmers approach the management of wetlands and waterways on their farms, and was funded by a Fish & Game New Zealand Research Scholarship, in association with the Agriculture Research Group On Sustainability (ARGOS). The goal of the research was to explore farmers' perceptions of wetlands and waterways on their land and to discover what barriers may impact upon their strategies to protect or develop these areas. As little social research is available in this area, this study sought to gather enough data to provide an overview of farming management practices with regard to wetlands and waterways, and to establish some useful parameters for future research in this area. The research in this report incorporates the results from a section of questions about wetlands and waterways sent out to random samples of farmers in all main sectors of primary production as part of a larger quantitative survey looking at sustainability on farms. This report also includes results from qualitative research based on tape-recorded interviews with 36 sheep/beef farmers and 19 dairy farmers.