Rural Farming Compliance Information
Farming activities across the Horizons Region, from dairy farming to poultry farming, are governed by a range of rules and regulations to mitigate possible environmental impacts.
Discharge Consents
All discharges of dairy farm effluent to land require a resource consent. It is important to manage dairy effluent correctly, as it can be a valuable resource. Not only is good management important for staying compliant with resource consent conditions, it can also increase pasture production and reduce fertiliser costs. On the other hand, poor management of effluent poses a risk to the environment and could result in enforcement action.
Good effluent management is a combination of having a well-designed effluent system, and processes in place to ensure the effluent is applied to pasture in the right amount at the right time. We have some factsheets below which provide more information on achieving compliance and how to get the most out of your effluent as a resource on farm. DairyNZ also has some useful effluent information available on their website.
If you're thinking of upgrading your effluent system, please contact our Rural Advice Team on free phone 0508 800 800.
Water use on farms
Shed washdown and stockwater
A resource consent to take surface water or groundwater is required when the amount of water being taken exceeds the permitted activity amounts. The permitted daily water take for shed washdown and stock drinking water differs depending on where the water is sourced from:
Surface water is 30,000L/day
Groundwater is 50,000L/day
Water irrigation
If you take water to irrigate pastures, you are required to have an irrigation resource consent. For more information on what you require, please head to our Industry page or our Apply for Consents page.
Land Use Consents for Nutrient Management
Land use consents aim to manage nutrient, sediment and faecal bacteria loss from farms. Several different consents may be required, depending on your circumstances.
For existing intensive farms, if you are within a ‘target catchment’, you will require a resource consent to manage nutrients on farm. If you are planning on converting land that has been previously used as a non-intensive to a more intensive land use, you will need a conversion resource consent. An intensive farm is classified as dairy, irrigated sheep and beef, commercial vegetable growing and cropping.
Please refer to the target catchment chart and flow chart below to determine if you need a nutrient management or conversion consent. If you have any questions around land use consents for nutrient management on a conversion or existing farm please contact our Rural Advice Team on freephone 0508 800 800.
Permitted Activities
While many farm activities require resource consents, some can be carried out without a consent as a ‘permitted activity’. This means you are allowed to carry out a permitted activity as long as you meet set conditions which can be found in the relevant rules in the One Plan. If you are unable to meet the conditions stated in the One Plan, you will need to apply for a resource consent.
If you ever have any questions about if you need a resource consent or not to carry out an activity on a farm, contact our consents team by calling free phone 0508 800 800 or emailing consents.enquiries@horizons.govt.nz.
We have a range of information sheets about permitted activities on farms, including fertiliser use, land disturbance, vegetation clearance, and working in and near waterways.
One Plan information sheets
These information sheets have been developed to help the Region's resource users to understand and use the One Plan. They should be read in conjunction with the relevant provisions in the One Plan.
Stopbank grazing guidelines
We will allow light controlled grazing on stopbanks, but have some guidelines you need to follow.