The new Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord (SDWA) will be taken to farmers over the coming months before being finalised and formally launched in time for the 2013/14 dairy season – effective 1 August 2013.
DairyNZ chair John Luxton says the new accord has been developed to update and succeed the Clean Streams Accord that was developed in 2003 with commitments that ended in 2012.
“This is a new broader and more comprehensive commitment than the previous Clean Streams Accord - as it will cover all dairy farmers, not just Fonterra suppliers.
“It also includes commitments to targeted riparian planting plans, comprehensive standards for new dairy farms and measures to improve the efficiency of water and nutrient use on farms. All dairy companies and DairyNZ will be accountable for its commitments and farmer uptake will be supported through supply contracts and support programmes.”
Luxton says they have been discussing this new accord for months with various farmer groups including Federated Farmers and the dairy companies to get pan-industry agreement – it also has the support and input from a wide range of industry stakeholders. This group includes Federated Farmers as well as central and regional government officials and representatives from iwi and environmental groups too.
Along with each individual dairy company, the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) is also involved. Chairman and Fonterra director Malcolm Bailey, says the new accord is about the industry setting some industry good practice standards that farmers will have to meet no matter who they supply or where they farm.
“Dairy companies will be discussing these commitments with farmers over the coming months to explain them and talk about why measures are being taken and what support is being put in place. Fonterra, supported by DairyNZ, is planning 50 meetings around the country with its suppliers from March 4-15. Other companies, supported by DairyNZ, will also be talking through the details of the Accord with their farmer suppliers over the coming months.”
The agreement will be in place for the start of the next dairy season and will be a key action for implementing a new Strategy for Sustainable Dairy Farming that will be released in May.
Federated Farmers Dairy chairperson, Willy Leferink, says Federated Farmers and other farmer groups have been consulted throughout the development of the accord.
“This accord is different because we are making commitments right across our industry to ensure farm improvements happen. Farmers are not only going to be involved in supporting change but will deliver it by meeting these targets. This includes the irrigation and fertiliser sectors too. This is the biggest step, yet, in terms of getting everyone in our industry to work together by agreeing some common standards for industry good practice,” he says.
The SDWA covers five key areas:
• Riparian management – requirements for excluding dairy cattle from significant waterways and drains (greater than one metre in width and deeper than 30cm that permanently contain water) and significant wetlands (identified by regional councils) within a phased timeframe; development of riparian planting plans
• Nutrient management – improving management of Nitrogen and Phosphorus loss from dairy farming systems through an industry-wide monitoring and support system
• Effluent management – compliance with regional council effluent management rules and continued investment in fit for purpose systems
• Water use management – improving water use efficiency in irrigation systems and around the cowshed
• Conversions – comprehensive good practice standards for all new dairy farms
Specifically the dairy industry is committing to a number of key timeframes including
• Dairy cattle excluded from waterways: 90% by 31 May 2014; 100% by 31 May 2017.
• Dairy cattle excluded from wetlands: 100% by 31 May 2014
