Plan for winter crop management
B+LNZ says while the 1 May application date has passed for farmers requiring a resource consent to graze their winter forage crops this year, it's not too late to put together a wintering plan.
Environment Canterbury are reminding farmers that having an intensive winter grazing management plan is imperative for farmers that want the best environmental outcome from a ‘high-risk’ activity.
The council’s advice comes just days after intensive winter grazing regulations came into effect on 1 November.
Under those rules, intensive winter grazing can be practised as a permitted activity if certain criteria around land area, slope, distance from waterways and critical source areas are met.
Farmers unable to meet the criteria need to apply for resource consent.
The deadline for intensive winter grazing resource consent applications is 1 May 2023, however, according to Environment Canterbury, consent does not need to be granted by that date.
If an application is submitted by May, the IWG activity will be considered compliant in 2023 if the applicant follows what was proposed in the application and ensures that environmental risks are appropriately managed according to their IWG management plan.
Environment Canterbury general manager – regulatory services Judith Earl-Goulet says Canterbury farmers are working hard to reduce their impact on waterways.
“We’re really happy to see that farmers have made huge strides in improving winter grazing practices over the past 10 years,” she says.
“We acknowledge that getting the paperwork right can add to the stress of running a farming business and we want to try to make this process as straightforward as possible, so farmers can spend their time on-farm working to make improvements.”
For more information about the application, Environment Canterbury suggests visiting its intensive winter grazing webpage or its Farmers’ Hub webpage.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.
OPINION: Your canine crusader is not surprised by the recent news that New Zealand plant-based ‘fake meat’ business is in…