'Clip board' council out of touch
Commercial grower Bruce Rollison says he's spending a lot of time dealing with existing regulations and planning to deal with new ones that keep appearing.
The infamous One Plan - proposed by Horizons Regional Council - that caused farmers in the region so much angst seems at an end with all parties agreeing to what is called Plan Change 2. The plan is designed to set out how natural resources in the region should be managed. When first proposed, it was seen as an omnibus plan that would bring all those interested in environmental issues together - instead it provoked row after row and court hearings.
But a couple of weeks ago, the council signed off on changes to One Plan proposed by a panel of experts.
Council chair Rachel Keedwell says this will enable them to return to effective regulation of existing farm land uses through One Plan as soon as possible.
"Council's focus is to now turn to implementation of the Plan Change and to continue to improve water quality throughout the region," she says.
Keedwell says the council acknowledges that this Plan Change process has created uncertainty and stress for landowners, and that their decision is an interim measure with more work needed in this area. "This includes notifying a revised One Plan by 2024," she says.
As part of the process, DairyNZ and Federated Farmers jointly submitted on the plan and both say they are pleased at the outcome.
Feds president and Manawatu dairy farmer Andrew Hoggard, who has been involved in discussions on One Plan for more than a decade, says the outcome gives certainty for farmers who have been in limbo. He says Plan Change 2 is an interim measure, intended to address the pressing issue about the One Plan's workability, while a more fundamental, region-wide work programme is completed to give effect to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020.
"The council's decision will provide a pathway for consent for intensive farming land uses located in 32 Targeted Catchments, effectively opening the door to farmers shut out from gaining consent as a result of 2017 Environment Court declarations," says Hoggard.
"We are pleased to see council and commissioners have endorsed our approach, moving away from using LUC [Land Use Capability] as a tool for nitrogen allocation.
"The decision also provides for a controlled activity pathway for farms that make a considerable 20% reduction in nitrogen loss based on actual farm baselines (with those in the top 25% having to reduce to the 75th percentile for N leaching).
"We look forward to working with Horizons to ensure the plan change can be implemented to ensure the plan change can implemented as seamlessly as possible," says Hoggard.
The new plan change decision will benefit dairy farmers, the environment and local communities, according to DairyNZ's strategy and investment leader, Dr David Burger. He says version changes to Overseer had unintentionally made it extremely difficult for some farmers in the region to gain consent to continue farming.
"Both pathways will now be available for these farmers to seek consent, while looking after the environment. The first consent pathway put forward by the council is forward by the council if for farmers to achieve a series of nitrogen loss targets - these vary based on land use capability class of the farm. The second option put forward by DairyNZ and Feds provides a pathway for farms to make a minimum 20% reduction in nitrogen losses from their previous farm baseline numbers," he says.
Burger says the evidence from both organisations showed the new consent pathway provided balanced environmental and economic benefits.
Check Your Consent Application
DairyNZ's message to farmers in the Horizons Regional Council jurisdiction is check your consent or consent application is a land use consent.
You will know it is if there is a nitrogen leaching maximum stipulated (often written as kg/N/ha), and a consent condition requiring the annual reporting of your farm N-loss.
If you have this consent then you do not need to do anything, provided your farm has not changed since granting of this consent.
The land use consent will have been granted based on your land area at the time you applied for consent. If your land area has changed, DairyNZ suggests you contact either Horizons or the nutrient management consultant you used to prepare the consent application to discuss if a change to your consent is needed.
There have been changes to the consenting pathway and documentation since 2017, and you will now have the choice to select from a wider range of options to reduce your N losses. It’s worthwhile discussing these with your advisor to ensure you choose the best option for your farm.
Many of the documents you have previously prepared will still be relevant, however it is likely some amendments will be required before these can be submitted to Horizons.
Your farm target N-loss number may also be different under the council’s decision. To progress your consent application, you will need to engage a qualified nutrient management consultant.
Plan Change 2 is only applicable to farms which are unconsented. The plan change specifies that any farm which is already consented can’t reapply under the new rules.
Plan Change 2 is an interim plan change and policy processes to meet the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management need to be underway by 2024.
You only need a consent if your farm is located (or has 20% or more of your farm area) within a Horizons target catchment. Horizons One Plan chapter 14 lists the target catchments.
