We assist farmers and industries to obtain resource consents by carrying out site inspections and offering advice to ensure compliance with the One Plan and Resource Management Act 1991.
Horizons understands that some farmers are facing severe feed and stock water pressures due to the drought. If farmers with an Intensive Land Use consent need to take action to mitigate feed and water shortages, they are encouraged to contact their adviser or DairyNZ to work through the best options. Once the decision has been made, farmers are required to contact Horizons Rural Advice and/or Compliance Monitoring staff explaining their situation and what actions are being taken. We do not want to see stock severely short of essential food and water, which adds additional stress to farmers who are trying to look after them. Some dairy farmers may be concerned about the nitrogen limits in their Intensive Land Use consents if they have to bring in extra supplement or apply nitrogen fertiliser later than their consent allows. To these farmers we wish to remind you that the N-leaching in Overseer mostly comes from excess nitrogen being excreted in urine. The excess nitrogen comes from cows eating pasture, as pasture typically provides more protein than the cows can use, and the excess protein is converted into ammonia and excreted in the urine. The drought means less pasture has been fed, so the amount of nitrogen leached this season will be less than in other years. Supplements are generally lower in protein than pasture, therefore cows fed supplement tend to leach less nitrogen. Farmers may also be forced to keep stock on that would normally be away grazing and/or find they have to keep culls on longer, which could increase N-leaching further. We are asking farmers to contact Horizons to discuss their situation so information can be stored for future reference. If, as a result of these circumstances, a non-compliance occurs with an Intensive Land Use consent, Horizons will not take enforcement action if the steps taken by the farmer are considered reasonable. However, it is important to note that Horizons will still have to record a non-compliance against the consent, but will note the circumstances around that non-compliance. Please email consents.monitoring@horizons.govt.nz or phone 0508 800 800 and ask to speak with Rural Advice. All other farm management practices to reduce feed demand should also be actioned.