"It is true in life, there is always someone worse off and my heart still goes out to the vegetable growers who do not have a way forward as yet and we understand how distressing that is," Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis said.
"Food and job security is important and our vegetable production into the future hasn't been resolved in the table recalibration of Overseer."
But Horizons plans to notify another plan change next year which would give those farmers consent, provided they are on track for gradual reduction.
The next stage is a catchment-by-catchment overhaul of freshwater management, where residents will discuss and agree on water quality targets. It will take until 2025 to cover all seven catchments.
Makomako farmer Andrew Day has told the Dannevirke News there are issues which still need to be looked at. Day was involved with the 2016 appeal against Horizons, supporting Fish and Game and the Environmental Defence Society in their court action over the way Horizons was implementing the One Plan.
In April last year the Environment Court's decision was released, stating Horizons must stick to rules governed by the Resource Management Act and not let financial implications on farmers determine its consent process.
"I feel for farmers who have been badly impacted and I believe a level of uncertainty remains," Day said. "Consents which have been granted have been grossly inconsistent across farms."
Collis, who farms in Eketahuna, agreed there was still uncertainty for the district's dairy farmers.
"We seem to be at a crossroad in terms of working with an amended One Plan to recognise Overseer changes or seeking a full plan change to recognise the unworkability of Overseer as a regulatory tool," she said. "Whatever is happening, it is still creating uncertainty for Tararua farmers.
"The new process put forward and resolved by the regional councillors as a way forward is to seek a plan change (PC1) designed to allow farmers who could originally meet the controlled activity rules of the original table an opportunity to get a resource consent.
"What it does not consider is that the desktop modelling of potential consent holders made back in 2006 when the plan was developed was never tested against reality. It also doesn't allow for another Overseer update, something that is short-sighted, in my view.
"When my dairy farm was organic we could not meet the original Table 14.2 and I daresay that it logically wouldn't meet the recalibrated table either."
Day said he didn't know how much involvement conservation groups had had in the Plan changes, or if they had been consulted.
"But, in our part of the country we have recourse to the courts if we're not happy with the decision of the regional council," he warned. There are still farmers operating illegally, outside the decision of the Environment Court, Day said.
"Personally, I believe the Government should have had a closer look at the regional council and I question how much accountability there has been. There have been no resignations from regional councillors or staff and I have my reservations on how well lessons have been learnt.
"Plan changes are going to be ongoing and it's going to be interesting to see how these latest proposed changes to the plan play out," he said.
Collis admitted any change to the One Plan, whether an amendment or a full plan change, was likely to bring a legal challenge. He said it was imperative farmers kept their heads up and continued to do their best for the land of which they are guardians.
In September last year, at an emotionally charged meeting in Dannevirke, Dannevirke dairy farmer Russell Phillips and other speakers said they didn't want Horizons' One Plan ruining dairy farmers' lives.
At the time Mr Phillips said Tararua's 254 dairy farmers were facing a profit reduction of between 24 and 61 per cent, with the flow on to a loss of gross earnings into our district of between 45 and 50 per cent.
Dairy farmers were producing 33 million kilograms of milk solids on farms from Norsewood to Eketahuna and if Horizons couldn't come up with a revised One Plan, there would be a loss of 15 million kilograms.
Mr Phillips said this would be an economic hit to the district of $105 million a year and result in the loss of up to 400 jobs.
Lives, incomes, asset values and mental health would have all been at risk under the One Plan as directed by the Environment Court, with figures showing the $105m economic loss would be multiplied three or four times in the trickle-down to the district, Phillips said. However, he insisted farmers have never said they don't want to be part of improving the environment.
In November last year Horizons gave notice it would begin to work on plan changes and last week's three-staged approach announcement includes progress towards updating nitrogen leaching numbers in the One Plan, based on updated versions of the model Overseer, used to estimate nitrogen leaching.
Proposed Plan Change 2 (PPC2) will see a recalibration of nitrogen leaching numbers in Horizons' Regional Plan (the One Plan) Table 14.2 in response to Overseer improvements.
Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon said an evaluation of the policy for managing nutrients in the One Plan in 2017 demonstrated a problem existed within the regulatory framework.
"Since the One Plan was notified in 2007, Overseer numbers have been updated eight times to improve its accuracy. Modelled nitrogen leaching has changed by 60 per cent, however the numbers in the plan have not been updated," he said.
"PPC2 will recalibrate Table 14.2 with Overseer version 6.3.0 and focuses on the controlled activity pathway for managing nutrients. Changing the table numbers will have no environmental impact."
Discussions will now proceed with iwi, the primary sector and environmental organisations, with the aim to have PPC2 notified in November/December this year.
"The second part of the freshwater package will make broader changes to the One Plan to ensure a practicable consenting pathway exists for land intensive users in line with the regional policy statement.
"Further work on this plan change is required before notification in mid-2019," Gordon said.
In addition to PPC2 and a Proposed Plan Change 3, the regional council will continue to review its approach to achieving better freshwater outcomes through collaborative catchment processes. That will include taking stock of progress with freshwater management and working with communities to determine what to do next to achieve the outcomes it seeks.
"Our Freshwater Future programme will begin with the Manawatū catchment, where discussions with iwi are already underway," Gordon said.
"Council will need to work within the frame set by a number of Treaty of Waitangi settlements concerning rivers.
"While this process will fulfil the requirements of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, the regional council recommends the resulting catchment plans be outcome-focused and includes non-regulatory initiatives."
