Media in China are covering the spreading of drilling and hydraulic fracturing waste on farms in Taranaki and report that the New Zealand dairy industry is facing a condundrum.
A report by the Xinhua agency says Taranaki is home to both a thriving oil and dairy industry.
"For years they remained distinct,'' it says, ''but the pressures to expand and intensify in both fields are seeing a cross-over that critics claim could be the source of future concerns for food exporters".
Taranaki Regional Council has allowed waste produced during fracking, known as frac-flow-back fluid, to be applied to farmland.
It's a practice that's deemed unsuitable for agricultural land in other parts of the world - including in Alberta, Canada - whose example the council claims to be following.
