Noise pollution and the absentee landowner

Ok, so having frost fans thumping through the night is pretty grim and as nasty a form of noise pollution as you can find.
But why would farmers do it to themselves?
There are genuine reasons, such as they could be the only ones affected and / or the profit margin is too good to turn down. But increasingly the answer as to why a farmer would put up with these devices is;

1. They aren’t farmers and
2. They don’t live there.

Yep, welcome to the World of the absentee landowner. To them it’s a business. Pure profit and loss calculations to be made on a spreadsheet.
These are business men, their properties will be investments, held in tax dodging trusts to make sure that they will squeeze every last cent out of it.
Now there’s nothing wrong with making a dollar, but any attempt to portray themselves as men of the land or guardians of the soil maintaining a natural balance is rubbish.
A resource consent is a commodity (it is common practice to buy a piece of land, get a resource consent for an activity and then sell it off for profit).

But the worst part of all….

They don’t live there. They will be living in an affluent part of Auckland or Christchurch. The worst noise they will be contending with is the sound of the espresso machine on a Sunday morning.
So while 50 frost fans beat the air into submission and the neighbours (and the vineyard manager) shudder in their (suddenly devalued) homes, they will be relaxing to the sound of nothing at all.

They have no sense of community spirit. And they certainly will not be interested in your concerns unless those concerns threaten to cost them money. In which case, it’s time to hire some lawyers. And you can bet your bottom dollar that this will be a common occurrence for them.

Here’s the analogy.

France was more than happy to advance their nuclear arsenal by testing their weapons as far away from themselves as possible and to leave the area polluted.
Personally I don’t see a lot of difference in the Absentee Landowner.

Frost fans can be used responsibly.

• Keep them way from residences.
• Assist your neighbors to improve their sound insulation.
• Use the quieter models of fans.

But I suppose none of those options are the cheapest…