Calls for hold on winter grazing rules

Under the new regulations, which were released late last year, farmers who graze livestock on an annual forage crop over winter, and do not meet a range of permitted activity criteria, are required to either gain a certified Freshwater Farm Plan or to apply for resource consent from 1 November 2022.

The industry good organisation, along with DairyNZ and Federated Farmers, wrote to Environment Minister David Parker, calling for a delay and asking him to work with the sector on a practical solution in the interim.

It’s not the first time B+LNZ have raised the issue.

In 2021, when consultations were held on the winter grazing rules, CEO Sam McIvor said B+LNZ had a number of issues with the new regulations, including the use of farm plans as a compliance tool.

Now, McIvor says the Government has all but forced farmers to apply for resource consent, a process which can cost thousands of dollars.

“Unfortunately, the Government has failed to get the freshwater farm plans in place in time, meaning farmers will have to go down the expensive consenting process,” says McIvor.

He says thousands of farmers are now likely to have to go through the consenting process, with Waikato Regional Council estimating that more than 1,000 farmers in their region are likely to need a consent.

“Regional councils have reported winter grazing practices have lifted significantly in recent years, which proves that farmers are committed to improving their winter grazing practices. A delay in the implementation of the rules won’t be at the expense of the environment,” he says.

“This volume of farmers using a resource consent pathway will mean a significant cost to the farming community and a significant burden on regional councils who would need to process these resource consents.”

McIvor says there is a major risk that regional councils won’t be able to process the resource consents on time, especially as farmers need to plan their forage crops for next season now.

“We’re calling for a pragmatic solution.”

“Our request is that the regulations are delayed until November 2023 and that industry work to provide farmers with a winter grazing template to complete this season.

“In parallel, the sector would like to continue to have a conversation with the Government about the 10-degree slope rule, which is one of the triggers for needing a consent.  Ideally, we would like this slope rule increased to 15-degrees or exemptions applied if the steep paddock being winter grazed does not feed into a waterway.”