A new large scale dairy farm in the Mackenzie Basin of New Zealand has been given the green light to operate despite strong resistance.

Conservation groups believe not enough research has been done into the impact on the environment and they fear the area is being put under too much pressure.

The Mackenzie country is famous for its scenic beauty but the green pastures are a sign of changing times.

The land produces some of the best grass in North Otago but it took a two-year battle through the courts for Little Ben Farms to get consent to irrigate 470 hectares and milk 1,400 cows. "It was a bit like going to the circus and getting on a merry-go-round, but it never stopped going around," says Mackenzie Basin farmer Mervyn McCabe.

The application came at a time when, up the road they wanted to milk 18,000 cows and house them under cover over winter. Concerns over effluent and run-off were enough for the government to step in and stop that project.

The latest scheme involves fewer cows which would be wintered off the property. "The systems we put in place you couldn't do anything better to look after the environment," says McCabe.

 It is just part of 31,000 hectares of Mackenzie Basin Crown land which the government is planning to freehold.