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The number of farms receiving A grades in Canterbury has gone from 14% in 2017 to 77% in 2024-25, while the number of C and D grades dropped from 12% to 2% over the same period.
Charlotte Senior, a director of farm consultancy Agri Intel and one of about 20 accredited FEP auditors in the ECan area, said releasing the data helped show that the efforts made by farmers are being recognised and felt.
"It can make you wonder if it's all worth it when you are stuck doing paperwork or looking at the cost associated with auditing, but be assured it is," she said.
"Direction is more important than speed, and the data from the FEP programme shows farmers are heading in the right direction."
Senior acts as environmental advisor to the lower Selwyn catchment's Eastern Plains Land User Group (EPLUG), a group of about 130 farmers in an area across the top of Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora, from State Highway One to the sea. She presented the numbers to a recent meeting of the group.
The figures showed that Selwyn outperforms wider Canterbury, reflecting its earlier adoption of audits in 2017 under the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan.
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The rest of Canterbury was about two to three years later.
"Both Canterbury and Selwyn have lifted, but Selwyn led the way - A grades have become the norm and C and D grades are now almost gone," said Senior.
Meanwhile, Central Plains Water Limited's (CPWL) groundwater monitoring shows nitrate levels trending down in most of the wells the company monitors.
"The good news is that data across Selwyn backs up the progress we're seeing on the ground," said Senior.
Sixty per cent of wells monitored by CPWL had shown clear signs of improvement over the past five years.
Senior said a standout area of improvement has been irrigation management. While noting it was still the management area with the second-most issues (next to effluent), they've seen real progress in irrigation efficiency and management, even as requirements to comply have become more stringent.
"It's a real good news story," said Senior. "People are now understanding and using their data rather than just buying gear and collecting numbers they don't look at."
Senior said about 3000 audits have now taken place. The FEP standards protect the good farmers.
"It's not an easy feat to get an A grade and the farmers that get that should be really proud of that.
"They've met a lot of standards and in order to do so; they understand what good management practice is."
She said the community as a whole wanted confidence that farmers were meeting minimum standards but it was disappointing when talking to people outside rural New Zealand, that they had no idea about the FEPs and the audit process, and that farmers could actually lose their licence to farm if they don't make the grade.
She pointed out that irrigation schemes could turn a farmer's water off if they continually get poor grades. Good farmers wanted that accountability and they didn't want poor performers dragging the industry down.
Farming professionals such as those supplying soil moisture probes or fertiliser advice also needed a healthy accountability, she said.
"We're trying to achieve a really difficult outcome, to improve water quality. It's a long-term issue."
'Huge Progress'
Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst has welcomed the figures, saying the huge progress made shows that the vast majority of farmers are highly motivated to lift their game.
"Our sector is constantly being bagged by certain greenie groups as uncaring stewards of land and water, yet these results show completely the opposite.
"Farmers are frustrated by this sort of criticism - anyone would be.
"Maybe the findings from this independent monitoring by the regional council will blunt some of the carping we face from some quarters."
