Wednesday, 04 August 2021 06:55

Don't duplicate the good work done by farmers

Written by  Staff Reporters
DairyNZ strategy and investment leader Dr David Burger. DairyNZ strategy and investment leader Dr David Burger.

DairyNZ says while it supports the view that all farmers should have regulated freshwater farm plans, it says these must not duplicate the good work already being done by farmers.

Consultation on the Government's proposed changes, which importantly focus on a more realistic approach to stock exclusion on farms, has begun and runs through until the beginning of September.

According to DairyNZ strategy and investment leader Dr David Burger, the industry good organisation wants to see the framework acknowledge work already done by farmers and ensure it doesn't add time pressures on farm or complications within regional plans.

"Dairy farmers are committed to improving water quality and have a lot of work already underway on farms, including 3,400 existing Farm Environment Plans. But doubling up on work and compounding that with short timeframes will put too much pressure on farmers. Recognising existing planning is crucial because farmers are already overwhelmed with too many regulations, coming in too hard and fast," he says.

Burger says the pace and scale of new regulations is adding significant pressure on-farm. He says in a DairyNZ survey, 62% of farmers said they or someone on their farm had experienced a mental health issue in the past 12 months, with the main cause identified as the changing regulations.

“DairyNZ will make a strong submission on behalf of dairy farmers to ensure fair and achievable rules. For dairy farmers who already have a Farm Environment Plan that includes a strong focus on freshwater, it should be about updating it rather than rewriting. We also want the freshwater farm plans to fit logically with regional plan regulations, to prevent re-work by farmers and dairy companies,” he says.

Burger says dairy farmers are committed to playing their part, alongside all New Zealanders, to reduce their environmental footprint and says farmers have been taking a wide range of on-farm actions for more than 20 years nationwide to improve water quality. He adds that dairy companies have a key role in helping farmers develop and update their plans.

“While the consultation is underway, DairyNZ recommends farmers continue working with their dairy companies to develop and update their plans,” he says.

More like this

Dairy power

OPINION: The good times felt across the dairy sector weren't lost at last week's Beef + Lamb NZ annual meeting.

Inequality 'is on the rise'

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub is warning that inequality between countries has fallen markedly over the past 200 years but inequality and political polarisation within countries was on the rise.

Featured

Farmers will adapt amid global trade turmoil

New tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump signal an uncertain future, but New Zealand farmers know how to adapt to changing conditions, says Auriga Martin, chief executive of Farm Focus.

National

Machinery & Products

Amazone extends hoe range

With many European manufacturers releasing mechanical weeding systems to counter the backlash around the use and possible banning of agrochemicals,…

Gong for NH dealers

New Holland dealers from around Australia and New Zealand came together last month for the Dealer of the Year Awards,…

A true Kiwi ingenuity

The King Cobra raingun continues to have a huge following in the New Zealand market and is also exported to…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Dairy power

OPINION: The good times felt across the dairy sector weren't lost at last week's Beef + Lamb NZ annual meeting.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter