Andrew Hoggard, a Horizons regional dairy farmer and Feds Dairy national vice-president, says the council’s changes to the plan make it “livable with”. But he’d prefer the plan was changed to something more acceptable to dairy farmers. 

The present plan was imposed on the council by the Environment Court after a series of appeals. Dairy farmers and commercial growers are unhappy with this. Appeals by Federated Farmers and Horticulture New Zealand against points of law in the One Plan are due to be heard soon in the High Court.

The council’s proposal allows a controlled activity consent to farm for up to 25 years for farmers who meet required N leaching targets for their farms. Farmers with a plan to reduce their N leaching will get a 20-year restricted discretionary consent. But those who refuse to reduce their N leaching will get only a 5-year restricted discretionary consent and will be referred to ‘industry’ to get help.

A big change in the process is that the council will develop ‘memoranda of understanding’ on N leaching mitigation strategies, rather than imposing them on farmers. They seem to be aiming to work with all stakeholders.  But though the dairy industry has been involved in these new protocols, Horticulture New Zealand, a major stakeholder, has not yet been approached about them. 

Hoggard, still studying details of the Horizons proposal, says he sees need for change. 

The council’s implementation proposal is an interim solution pending its application for a plan change.

“I’ve heard different stories about this. Some say we will have to wait two years before anything can happen; other people say it can be done straight away. I’m not a legal expert and can’t say when it might happen, except that it must happen, because the plan effectively recognises that the leaching tables we’ve been given are unachievable. It seems a bit silly to leave in rules unachievable by the vast majority of farmers. Common sense would suggest you have rules most people can achieve and then you set up the exceptions for the minority, not the other way around,” he says.