We are already mid-autumn and soon we will be heading into winter. As we transition into winter in the Mackenzie and Waitaki regions of New Zealand, farmers gear up for specific activities that can impact cyclists on nearby trails.
Here are some tips to keep the trail safe during these winter endeavors:
- Infrastructure Maintenance: Maintenance activities on farm infrastructure, such as fences and water troughs, may require temporary closures or detours on cycle trails. Kindly coordinate with us to communicate any road closures and alternative routes during maintenance periods, and putting up clear signage is also key.
- Movement of Stock During Winter Grazing Management: Farmers often move livestock to lower-altitude pastures or sheltered areas. Kindly ensure that livestock are properly contained during movement and that cyclists are aware of potential encounters through signage or communication.
- Increase in Traffic during Fodder Conservation: Harvesting and storing fodder for winter feeding can involve increased traffic of farm vehicles on rural roads and access points near cycle trails. We encourage you to look out for cyclists during this time.
- Soil Management: Some farmers choose to conduct soil testing during the off-season or winter months when fieldwork is minimal. Soil chemicals used on nearby farms may leach into the soil and waterways, posing potential health risks to cyclists if these reach the trail. If this is one of your planned activities, we encourage you to put up buffer zones, to alert cyclists of the presence of soil testing activities and precautions to take.
- Hazards on the Trail: We also encourage you to not put any obstacles across the trail as generally riders are not expecting these hazards.
For any activities happening on the trail, we always keep cyclists abreast through our social pages and website. If you are having any activities on the trail and would like to keep the Trail users notified, please email us on a2otrailmanager@waitaki.govt.nz and we will help you communicate the news.
