increase font size
Colin Hurst, Federated Farmers, says farm plans have huge potential to cut unnecessary red tape.
OPINION: The Government's latest move to make freshwater farm plans more practical and affordable is welcome, and long overdue.
The changes are a positive start that will give farmers a lot of confidence for the future. The changes are largely in line with what the industry has been advocating for over the past six years.
The changes should cut the cost and complexity out of the system and reduce the number of farms required to have a plan and to take a risk-based approach to certification. The new plans should also manage environmental impacts, but without unnecessary red tape, and they won’t be required for small blocks.
Federated Farmers Colin Hurst says farm plans have huge potential to cut unnecessary red tape, compliance costs, and consenting requirements for farmers. He says a tailored farm planning system that takes a risk-based approach will provide strong environmental protections without the over-the-top bureaucracy we’ve seen in recent years.
“For a farmer, this has the potential to be a game changer, replacing the need for expensive and uncertain resource consents or constantly changing council rules,” he says.
It’s a feather in the Government’s cap, and Hurst says the Government are making all the right noises. However, farmers should still keep a close eye on the process and lobby groups should keep engaging with them to make sure the system works in practice.
On the Government side, Andrew Hoggard says officials are working with industry, sector groups, and councils to finalise improvements through updated regulations, while Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says the Government is recognising existing industry programmes that achieve equivalent environmental outcomes and that farmers shouldn’t have to complete multiple plans.
New Zealand's pest problem has reached crisis point, according to Federated Farmers' second National Pests Survey, which shows farmers are spending more money and effort on control — yet pest numbers keep climbing faster than they were two years ago.
Despite political shenanigans in Wellington, farmers are confident that Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms will get over the line in this term of Parliament.
The Government has announced it will pause key parts of Waikato Plan Change 1 (PC1) in a decision that is set to give Waikato farmers a reprieve from new consenting and farm-planning requirements while the wider resource management system is overhauled.
OPINION: The time has come for the Government to back the organic sector.
OPINION: As the general election approaches, political parties are churning out policies in the hope of attracting more votes.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
Kaikōura families affected by July's severe storm have found a practical solution to a problem that's kept some children away from regular schooling for weeks: a washed-out section of Inland Kaikōura Road, which has stopped the local school bus from running its usual route.
Rural New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s recent package of rural healthcare initiatives.
Interest in agritech and production animal systems has prompted Massey University's School of Agriculture and the Environment to new majors to its popular animal science degree.
Ballance Agrinutrients chief executive Kelvin Wickham says despite a tough year, he is pleased the business has returned to profit.
When Northland farmer Mark Cameron entered parliament six years ago, the Beehive was a lonely place.
OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…
OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.
