Source: Federated Farmers
Federated Farmers is calling on the Government to urgently press pause on a controversial Waikato plan change until the dust has settled on major national policy reforms.
“This will be the most significant rule change ever seen by farmers in the Waikato and Waipā catchments,” says Waikato Federated Farmers president Chris Woolerton.
“There are huge restrictions and compliance requirements being placed on Waikato farmers that will totally change the nature of farming in the region.
“Plan Change 1 will add cost, complexity and duplication, with thousands of farmers needing both a resource consent and a gold-plated farm plan just to keep farming.”
Woolerton, a Taupiri dairy farmer, wants to see the plan change paused until there’s clarity on resource management, local government and farm plan reforms.
“These new farming rules are completely at odds with the Government’s direction of travel and vision for the country,” he says.
“On one hand we have a Government saying it wants to cut the cost and complexity from farming by overhauling local government and the RMA.
“But on the other hand we’ve got a binding court decision pushing in the opposite direction, bringing in very prescriptive farming rules with huge compliance requirements.”
The process to develop PC1 began in 2012 and has been tied up in endless submissions, hearings, and appeals ever since.
The Environment Court finally released its decision on 8 June, giving Waikato Regional Council until 21 July to make 20 specific changes before the plan will be finalised.
Woolerton says a big part of the issue is the length of time taken by the Environment Court to make a final decision.
“These rules took so long to work their way through the court system that by the time they landed they were already out of date and out of step with central government.
“This process has taken more than 14 years and, in that time, we’ve seen significant changes in farmers’ environmental practices. Farmers have moved quicker than the RMA process has.”
He says the decision has landed smack bang in the middle of reforms of the resource management system, local government and freshwater rules.
“That’ll create massive confusion for farmers, certifiers and the council alike, while trying to comply with what feel like ever-changing rules.
“That’s why we’re calling for central government to step in and put these rules on ice until the new system is clarified.
“Why roll out new farming rules that are about to be replaced? When the RMA goes, PC1 will go with it.”
Once in force, Plan Change 1 will introduce sweeping new rules for agricultural land use, affecting more than 4,500 farms across the Waikato and Waipā River catchments.
For example, restrictive rules will make it extremely difficult for farmers to change land use or even switch between different farming systems.
This would hit many Waikato farmers who converted their dairy farms to dairy goats in the 2010s, leaving them unable to return to milking cows.
More than 400 farmers in the Whangamarino Wetland Catchment will also have to obtain a restricted discretionary resource consent simply to continue their existing farming activities.
Those farmers will have no certainty they can keep farming, and those who do secure consent could be subjected to significant restrictions on how they operate.
King Country sheep and beef farmer Reon Verry, who serves as Waikato Federated Farmers meat and wool chair, is also concerned about what PC1 might mean for local farmers.
Verry is a strong supporter of environmental protection, having completed substantial fencing and planting projects on his farm and helped establish a local catchment group.
“The environment is something I really care about, but these rules will simply see a whole lot of money wasted on compliance costs rather than on-farm action,” Verry says.
“With all the Government’s reforms currently underway, it makes total sense to press pause on implementing these new rules until everyone has more clarity.
“Pausing the new rules doesn’t mean pressing pause on environmental improvements. Farmers are still going to keep getting on with the good work we’re already doing.
“Like most farmers, I’ve still got my farm environment plan to get on with, the native trees are ordered, and the fencers are booked in.”
Verry says Ministers are currently working their way through what the new national system will look like, and we need to be careful to avoid duplication or confusion.
“Common sense would suggest we slow down and wait for the new system to land.”