Dairy report shows less serious but more minor non-compliance
Environment Canterbury today reported less serious non-compliance with resource consent conditions in the 2014-15 dairy season than in the previous year, but higher rates of minor non-compliance. Marty Mortiaux, Regional Manager Monitoring and Compliance, said the season was a very challenging one for farmers facing reduced payouts and drought conditions. “Dairying has been growing in Canterbury and it is very important for the economy,” Mr Mortiaux said. “We now have 1149 farms compared with 632 10 years ago. The average dairy herd size in Canterbury is larger than elsewhere in New Zealand – 912 compared with the national average of 413. The increase in dairying is part of a more widespread increase in farming intensification. “Environment Canterbury’s role is to make sure this intensification does not unduly impact on water quality throughout the region,” Mr Mortiaux said. “Our monitoring of dairy farms has become much more than just assessing compliance with consent conditions. It is an essential part of implementing the Canterbury Water Management Strategy. “We are increasingly working alongside farmers and the industry to help improve environmental performance on farm while at the same time maintaining or improving profitability. “Last season we looked to meet our obligation to monitor compliance with dairy effluent discharge consents while at the same time working with farmers dealing with the season’s many challenges.” Environment Canterbury has changed its monitoring programme. “In 2014 -2015 we moved away from monitoring every dairy farm in the region at least once a year towards a more targeted regime based on risk criteria,” Marty Mortiaux said. “During the 2014-2015 year, 976 of 1149 dairy farms were actively monitored at least once -85% of all farms. Because the farms that were not monitored were assessed as being lower risk, year-on-year results are no longer directly comparable. “The rate of […]