Waikato Federated Farmers regional president Phil Sherwood.
Phil Sherwood has become the fifth Waikato Federated Farmers president to tackle proposed rules for land use along the region’s waterways.
An interim decision was recently released by the Environment Court on appeals relating to Waikato Regional Council’s Plan Change 1 (PC1), which aims to improve water quality in the Waikato and Waipā catchments.
Work on PC1 began in 2012 and was formally notified in 2016, with Federated Farmers among those to appeal.
The Environment Court recently released a 376-page interim decision giving those involved time to respond, with another hearing likely in September.
“At the heart of this whole issue is the ability to farm the land in the Waikato and Waipa catchments in perpetuity,” Sherwood said.
The Matamata farmer stepped up as Waikato Federated Farmers president this year, after stints as vice-dairy section chair and provincial vice-president.
He got his first taste of PC1 when chairing the provincial body’s regulatory committee for three years.
PC1 will have a “significant impact” on farmers in the Waikato and Waipā river catchments, Sherwood said.
“When it comes to farming rules, Waikato farmers are looking for some certainty, but we also need to know rules will be simple, practical and affordable.”
Sherwood said PC1 will cover everything from fencing requirements right through to farm environmental plan standards.
“There are some parts we are happy with, while other parts are still being worked through”.
“A lot of affected landowners don’t know the intensity of what’s coming.”
Sherwood said PC1 represents the most significant change to Waikato’s farming rules in more than a generation and sets a precedent for the country.
“Under these rules, almost all farmers are going to need a farm environment plan and some will now require a resource consent to continue farming,” he said.
“This is largely in line with where national regulation has been heading for a while now, and some farmers will already have a farm plan of some description in place.
“Our team are now working through the detail to understand what additional requirements, if any, might be put in place for Waikato farmers over and above existing requirements.”
Sherwood said some things seem to be landing in a “better place” compared to where they started in 2016 with earlier versions of PC1 – “but there will still be challenges for local farmers”.
Many low-intensity dairy and dry-stock farms are likely to be a “permitted activity” under the rules, he said.
This means no resource consent will be needed.
Most other farming activities will be classified as “controlled activities”, meaning a resource consent will be needed, but cannot be declined.
“It will depend on the risk level of that individual farm and the catchment where the farm is located.”
Sherwood also warned that there may be some particularly challenging aspects of the stock exclusion rules.
“All stock will need to be excluded from all water bodies on land with slopes of up to 10 degrees as soon as practicable within five years of the rules coming into force.
“If this can’t be met, then a farmer could apply for resource consent.”
“Industry-good” organisation DairyNZ has also been involved in the PC1 proceedings.
“We know that impractical compliance remains one of the top concerns for dairy farmers,” Dr David Burger, general manager, Farm Solutions and Policy, said.
“That’s why DairyNZ has been involved in PC1 from day one – investing significant resources to help shape practical, evidence-based solutions.
“We recognise the scale of change PC1 represents for the farming community.”
Burger said DairyNZ has been an “active participant” in the Environment Court process to help ensure the rules are fair, workable, and do not impose unnecessary costs or complexity on farmers.
Although PC1 is not yet operative, Burger said the interim decision marks an important step forward.
“It provides some positive signals, but there is still more to come before a final outcome is reached.”
Burger said DairyNZ will continue to stand alongside dairy farmers throughout this process as it unfolds, supporting the sector with education, awareness and technical science support for those impacted by the change.
Waikato Regional Council (WRC) says it is continuing work to address the 35 directions of the Environment Court, which includes taking into account feedback from parties who appealed the plan change.
“With this matter still before the court, it would be inappropriate at this point to provide any further detailed commentary on the interim decision,” WRC science, policy and information director Tracey May said.
“It is important to note that we are awaiting a final decision from the court; what we have is an interim decision with a number of directions.
“Once the court has considered our responses to their directions, we will receive the final decision.
“The decision is able to be appealed to the High Court, but only on matters of law,” May said.