Source: New Zealand Government
The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.
“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules in the Southland Water and Land Plan, by providing alternate national timelines,” Mr McClay says.
“Southland’s regional plan contains a requirement for farmers to prepare a farm plan by the end of this year, if the national system is not in place.
“Cabinet’s decision will remove uncertainty for farmers in the region who would have been unable to meet these timeframes, giving them until mid-2026 to meet the regional requirements.
“We do not want to see hard-working farmers and growers in the region impacted through no fault of their own.”
In October, the national freshwater farm plan system was paused to enable improvements to make it more cost-effective and practical for farmers.
“Our action will avoid unnecessary duplication and give farmers more time to develop farm plans which are practical and fit-for-purpose,” Mr Hoggard says.
“We are committed to simplifying the system and removing red tape.”
Cabinet’s decision will enable the change to take effect in Southland only.
“We have worked closely with Environment Southland to swiftly come up with a workable solution to support Southland farmers,” Ms Simmonds says.
“This targeted change will mean that national and regional farm planning systems are well aligned to avoid duplication, uncertainty, and cost.
“We intend to finalise changes to the national freshwater farm plan system by mid-2025.”
