Know the rules around land conversions
Taranaki Regional Council is urging dairy farmers to be aware of the rules around land intensification before considering adding adjoining land onto their farms.
The regulations mean that, for example, a farmer buying a dairy support block to use it as a milking platform must have a resource consent if the purchased land hasn’t been used in that way since before 2014.
Temporary regulations around agricultural intensification came into effect on 3 September 2020 as part of the Government’s Essential Freshwater reforms, which aim to limit the degradation of freshwater, start making improvements to water quality and reverse past damage to waterways and ecosystems.
The rules were introduced in the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater 2020 (NES-F) and run until 2024 when they will be replaced when the Council notifies its new Natural Resources Plan for Taranaki. The Plan sets out regulations on air, soil and water.
Some small-scale intensification is allowed provided the amount of land in use doesn’t increase by more than 10 hectares, compared to 2 September 2020.
Converting more than 10ha of land to more intensive land use or increasing the area of land used for dairy support above the highest annual amount used from any prior year between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2019 will need a resource consent. Intensification includes conversions of plantation forestry to pastoral land use and any land to dairy farmland.
Consents can only be obtained if a landowner can demonstrate that the contaminant load will not increase and contaminant concentration in receiving environments will not increase (compared to levels pre 2 September 2020).
Fred McLay, DirectorResource Management, says Council has been noting the change to farmers and real estate agents and getting queries about the new regulations. While Council had not received any consent applications, farmers needed to be aware of the impact of the regulations before buying land.
“We’re here to help and we’re always happy to clarify the rules. If anyone wants to know what they can or can’t do with land intensification, please get in touch and we can have a chat and help you to understand the regulations.”
For more information, please email info@trc.govt.nz