By Dan Parker
There's a growing stink in the country's daffodil capital and it isn't the sweet smell of flowers. It's silage, fermented, high-moisture fodder, the focus of a draft by-law which if passed could force the Carterton region's farmers to rearrange their properties.
“It's fair to say that there is one person that's involved more than anyone else,” says mayor Ron Mark.
That person is Phillip Engel. His silage is the source of the problem, it's piled up in close proximity to a number of his neighbours' homes. The bylaw would force Engel to move it 150 metres away.
“The further it has to be hauled, the more costly it is, access is paramount,” says Mr Engel.
Disputed complaints about smell are just the beginning. No neighbours would appear on camera but one gave 3 News video of what he calls a noisy and inconsiderate around the clock operation.
Federated Farmers’ Carterton president Paul McGill says this is an important lesson about getting on, because the draft bylaw could be negated with written consent from the neighbours.
“It seems to be a case of trying to solve a neighbourhood dispute rather than the actual silage bylaw itself,” he says.
McGill believe the bylaw is unnecessary bureaucracy that punishes all farmers because of the actions of one.
3 News