Kevin Sanders says using netting is good for the environment.
By Mara Pattison-Sowden
FARMERS are pushing for the right to cover 100 per cent of their crops with hail netting to fight climate change and help the environment.
They say crops under the netting need less watering, are less damaged by wind and are protected from birds and bats.
But they say the council will not a let them completely cover their crops because of the visual impact. They also want to be able to put up netting without a planning permit.
Kevin Sanders, who works his father’s apple farm in Three Bridges, said the council told him he could not cover more than 60 per cent of his crops with netting because of the visual impact on the valley.
But he said the nets, which were originally used to minimise the impact of hail storms, are increasingly becoming the farmers’ tool against climate change.
“We originally put them up more than 10 years ago to prevent absolute destruction of the fruit from major hail events,” he said.
Mr Sanders said the intensity of hail storms and heat had increased dramatically.
“Those events now with climate change will be coming faster and more frequent and more dangerous each time they turn up,” he said.
Mr Sanders said if farmers were able to double their production they would directly halve their impact on the environment.
“Hail nets manage climate change in ways we’ve never envisaged – it reduces wind, we use less water and we don’t have to manage the birds and bats,” he said.
Mark Chapman, who grows berries and cherries in Silvan, said three years ago he was told he could only cover 80 per cent of his crops and the rest was left open to the elements.
He said the various covering systems are designed to prevent sunburn and “if we could only cover 60 per cent we’d lose most of the crop to the elements”.
Yarra Ranges planning director Andrew Paxton did not acknowledge any policy on ratios for hail netting but said the council is working on a draft plan to help manage the green wedge areas in the valley.
Council spokesperson James Martin said: “The submissions we have received – and that we have been encouraging growers to provide us with – relate to whether they feel there should be a need to apply for a planning permit for hail netting structures.”
The use of hail netting is covered under the council’s Project Plan 3: Landscape Protection and residents can find a copy of the draft plan on the council website or contact Claudette Fahy on 1300 368 333.
