Hon David Carter
Minister of Agriculture

12 March 2009 Media Release

Clean streams tracking targets, but more work needed

Agriculture Minister David Carter is welcoming the progress made by the dairy industry in cleaning up rivers and streams on dairy farms, but is sending a strong message to farmers who still refuse to toe the line.

“No farmer has the right to pollute. The small numbers of dairy farmers who ignore effluent disposal requirements are testing the patience of all New Zealanders, and risk damaging the reputation of the dairy industry as a whole,” says Mr Carter.

The Minister today released the 2007/08 Dairying and Clean Streams Accord: Snapshot of Progress, which shows dairy farmers meeting the targets in the Accord in most areas.

The Snapshot of Progress shows farmers’ efforts to exclude cattle from waterways, bridge and culvert streams are on track, or ahead of target.

The report acknowledges, however, that efforts to ensure full compliance on resource consent conditions for effluent discharge – an immediate target under the Accord – are not yet at an acceptable level.

“The voluntary nature of the Accord is not a reason to ignore it. It means taking a greater responsibility to comply with the effluent discharge regulations set out in resource consents and regional plans,” says Mr Carter.

“Farmers have as much a vested interest in clean waterways as anyone else – particularly in areas where they live and work.”

Mr Carter says Fonterra initiatives, including tougher effluent management measures which penalise dairy farmers who blatantly flout Regional Council regulations, are a key part of the drive to improve water quality in New Zealand.

“The Accord is only one part of the solution. Local councils, farmers and producers are actively cooperating on a range of initiatives aimed at lifting the performance of the dairy sector and I applaud this.

“I’m confident that the next Snapshot of Progress will show the dairy industry continuing to demonstrate its willingness to be an effective guardian of our vital waterways.”
Further information: Visit MAF website for full report
Speech: Visit Beehive to see the Minister’s speech
Questions & Answers

What is the definition of an Accord waterway?
It must be deeper than a red band gumboot, wider than a stride and permanently flowing.

Why is Taranaki not included in the stats on cattle excluded from waterways?
In Taranaki, information relating to waterways (cattle exclusion and crossings) is provided directly by the Taranaki Regional Council through its farm planning programme. This programme differs to the Accord as it imposes riparian fencing and planting requirements on those farmers with riparian plans and covers a wider range of waterways.

How is ‘significant non-compliance’ defined?
All Accord partners are committed to achieving full compliance. Farmers who don’t comply are viewed as having let down the majority who do.

‘Significant non-compliance’ is a situation where rules and/or resource consents are breached, resulting in a greater potential for environmental degradation.

By comparison, ‘minor non-compliance’ is a situation where part of the system needs repairs or maintenance which if not carried out will likely lead to a non-complying discharge, or an administrative failure.

What is being done on those farms that are significantly non-compliant?
Farmers who are in breach of their resource consent can be dealt with by their local council, including the potential for prosecution under the Resource Management Act.

Fonterra has launched an Effluent Improvement System, targeted at farmers who have been prosecuted, but are still having trouble reaching compliance levels.

The plan will see Fonterra impose deductions on farmers not reaching the targets in their plan. Deductions can be credited against work to improve compliance (for example: repairs to effluent drainage and storage systems). In extreme cases, Fonterra can refuse to collect milk from a farm.

Fonterra, DairyNZ and local councils in Northland, Waikato, Southland and Canterbury have introduced initiatives to provide technical advice and support along with visits to all non-complying farms.

Farmers provide most of the information for the Snapshot of Progress themselves – how do you know it’s accurate?
Independent audits were commissioned by Fonterra to confirm the accuracy of the On-Farm Environmental Assessment results, and undertaken in selected regions from 2004 to 2006. These showed a high level of consistency between the independent audit and on-farm results, and from 2008/09 Fonterra has moved to a two-yearly cycle of independent auditing.

Some of the numbers for past years’ progress have changed compared to previous Snapshot reports – why is that?
This is due to a combination of a more accurate assessment methodology used compared with previous years (e.g. no longer including farmers with no Accord-type waterways when calculating progress against the first Accord target), and weighted averages now being used to calculate national progress (based on farm numbers in each region), rather than standard non-weighted averages.

What are the next steps for the Accord?
For the 2008/09 season, Fonterra will continue to work with the fertiliser industry, DairyNZ and Accord Partners to support suppliers to:

• increase the percentage of waterways with total stock exclusion,
• raise suppliers’ understanding of the use and benefits of nutrient budgeting,
• accelerate the uptake and implementation of full nutrient management plans,
• achieve higher levels of compliance with regional plan and resource consent requirements for effluent management, and
• re-invigorate Accord coverage of significant wetlands.

In addition, Fonterra in association with DairyNZ will work to fulfil its commitments under the Dairy Industry Strategy for Sustainable Environmental Management, and specific initiatives such as the Primary Sector Water Partnership.

ENDS

© Scoop Media