Hurunui farmers add their weight to run-off rules

‘‘The alternative is to do nothing and accept the rules,’’ said Hoban.

Most contentious was the ‘‘10 per cent rule’’. As dryland sheep and beef farmers start from a low nutrient loss baseline, a 10 per cent increase impacted on them much more than irrigating dairy farmers. Last year Environment Canterbury said it would no longer enforce the rule so farmers would not be forced to get a resource consent for normal farming practices like restocking and applying fertiliser as part of drought recovery.

Hurunui Waiau water management zone committee chairman John Faulkner, a Culverden dairy farmer, said the rules had unintended consequences for normal dryland farming practices. ‘‘It created a high level of uncertainty amongst people.’’ The rule reprieve gave the landcare group time to get organised and be an effective voice when the plan was reviewed.

‘‘We are very aware that with the drought no-one needs to be put under any more unnecessary pressure.

‘‘The people who are involved in the landcare group have put a huge amount of their own personal time and effort to get this up and running and work collaboratively with ECan and the zone committee and need to be applauded,’’ said Faulkner.

North Canterbury Federated Farmers meat and fibre chairman Dan Hodgen said the group was not trying to protect people doing the wrong thing. ‘‘A lot of farmers with a low impact on the environment are getting caught up in the regulatory process when they really shouldn’t be part of it.’’