MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Welcome to this special edition of Dairy eNews,

In 2005, Horizons were an early adopter of an approach to managing leaching. Since then science, knowledge and regulation methods have continued to change and unsurprisingly we are learning what works and what doesn’t. As many of you will be aware, Horizons have been working through the Environment Court’s decision following Wellington Fish & Game and the Environmental Defence Society’s application for declarations.

We realise the importance of keeping our farmers up to date as we work through what a consent application for intensive land use now requires. 

As such, at Horizons’ Strategy and Policy committee meeting on Wednesday, councillors were clearly informed that following the Environment Court’s ruling, if farmers had to meet the current nitrogen leaching numbers in the One Plan a significant number of businesses would no longer be viable.

Council is responsible to its community and I want to reassure farmers that while our intention is to improve water quality, we are unified in not wanting to bankrupt multiple businesses.

As a result, the Strategy and Policy committee have recommended Council instructs officers to prepare options for a change to the One Plan’s policies and rules around intensive agriculture. A partial plan change won’t take another decade, however our main concern is getting the pace of change right. Plan changes are a public process and will also need to identify the impact on individual landowners and the community as we all work to improve our rivers.

Horizons still has a legal plan to operate. Clearly there are challenges with this. However, it is really important for farmers to stay engaged with Council officers and industry bodies. Over the next few weeks you will receive more information from Council officers about what practical steps you can take as part of the consenting process. This will involve direct communication and community meetings.

Council officers are meeting with Fish & Game and the Environmental Defence Society during August to clarify their expectations. We will provide a further update in the next week, in the meantime should you like to read more please see our latest media release.

Bruce Gordon, Chairman
Horizons Regional Council