Source: Federated Farmers
The Government’s proposed improvements to farm plans are a positive step towards a more practical and affordable solution, but the devil will be in the detail, Federated Farmers says.
“Farm plans have huge potential to cut unnecessary red tape, compliance costs, and consenting requirements for farmers,” Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst says.
“A tailored farm planning system that takes a risk-based approach will provide strong environmental protections without the over-the-top bureaucracy we’ve seen in recent years.
“For a farmer, this has the potential to be a game changer, replacing the need for expensive and uncertain resource consents or constantly changing council rules.”
Federated Farmers are welcoming the Government’s intention to have a new farm plan system in place by the end of the year.
“This is a really positive start and will give farmers a lot of confidence in the direction of travel – but there’s still a lot more detail that we’re going to need to see,” Hurst says.
“Farmers are expecting to see the Government have nailed down a streamlined system that is affordable, enduring, and responsive to different catchment priorities.
“They’re making all the right noises – but we’ll be keeping a close eye on the process and engaging with the Government to make sure the system works in practice.”
Hurst is particularly pleased to see Ministers have agreed to reduce the number of farms required to have a plan and to take a risk-based approach to certification.
Until the current Government ordered a ‘pause’ last year, the previous administration was rolling out farm plans for all farms over 20 hectares.
“That was totally over the top and cast the net unnecessarily wide, catching a whole heap of lifestyle blocks that aren’t really commercial farms in the process,” Hurst says.
“Federated Farmers made a strong case that 50ha would be a much more pragmatic threshold, and today’s announcement that fewer farms will need a farm plan shows we were heard.”
Hurst also welcomes confirmation that farmers won’t need a new plan when they already have an existing industry plan in place that achieves equivalent environment outcomes.
“That’s a huge win for common sense and will cut out a lot of unnecessary cost, duplication and box-ticking for farmers.”
The new farm plan system will act as an alternative to local council rules and consents where appropriate, allowing farmers to meet requirements in a way that works for their farm system.
“This is where Federated Farmers would like to see the Government go much further to rein in district and regional council bureaucrats,” Hurst says.
“Farm plans and the roll out of a new RMA replacement present a huge opportunity to prevent them from piling on additional rules, restrictions and consent requirements over and above what’s required with new national standards.”
Questions also remain over the certification of farm plans and who will pay for audits for compliance – two significant issues for farmers.
“We’ll be keeping a close eye on those issues and working with the Government on behalf of our members to make sure they get it right,” Hurst concluded.
