The Government’s decision to overhaul the farm freshwater planning system has been welcomed as a positive step – but farmers want to ensure any new plans are practical and cost-effective and they want an end to uncertainty while the plans are reviewed.
For Mid Canterbury farmers the wait for clarity is slightly less frustrating.
Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers president David Acland said Mid Canterbury was one of the last regions to fall under the new freshwater plans, which were not due to kick in locally until 2025.
“There’s an indication from Government about where they see that going.”
Acland was hopeful that a clear direction would be in place by 2025 and that the process would be slowed down enough to avoid farmers wasting money on systems that will change.
Federated Farmers freshwater spokesperson Colin Hurst said the current system was impractical and frustrating for farmers with “one-size-fits-all rules” driven out of Wellington.
He said the review was “a really positive step forward for both farmers and the environment, but the devil is always going to be in the detail”.
There was a lot of unnecessary cost, complexity, and duplication – and a lot of opportunities to make improvements, Hurst said.
“It’s absolutely critical that the Government get this right. Farmers don’t want to see another expensive box-ticking exercise that will tie us up in endless red tape and arbitrary paperwork for very little environmental gain.”
Hurst said farm plans should allow farmers and rural communities to tailor their environmental improvement actions to match their specific local needs, which would lead to more community buy-in and better outcomes.
“It’s good to see the Government are talking about taking a risk-based approach, where the level of plan you need to put in place is determined by your specific catchment and farming activity.
“It’s also really encouraging that they’re looking at how existing sector or council farm plans could be recognised or integrated because over 10,000 farmers already have a plan in place.”
However, Hurst said farmers have been left in limbo, wondering if they should get a freshwater farm plan under the current rules or wait for changes.
“The Government needs to address this uncertainty by extending timelines in regions that already have freshwater farm plan requirements in place.
“Councils have already started implementing freshwater farm plan rules, but it makes no sense to force farmers to comply when we know the rules are about to change,” he said.
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard said the Government wanted to create an enduring system and was exploring ways to make any changes to farm plans fair to all farmers.
“As part of this, we may look into whether current requirements to complete a freshwater farm plan could be paused while improvements are developed”, he said.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said decisions would be considered alongside the Government’s overall approach to freshwater management, including stock exclusion and winter grazing.
Officials were looking at ways to integrate existing farm environment plans or industry assurance programmes into the system, he said.
“Certification and auditing requirements will also be considered, along with any support farmers need to develop robust freshwater farm plans.
“This might include giving catchment groups more of a leadership role in developing and implementing improved freshwater outcomes”, he said.
By Sharon Davis
