Minister unimpressed by Fed Farmers’ boycott call
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor appears to be unimpressed after hundreds of Southland farmers stood in support of a boycott of winter grazing resource consents.
At the Federated Farmers meeting in Invercargill on Wednesday night, the group’s Southland vicepresident, Bernadette Hunt, announced that she and the rest of the board would not apply for resource consents from Environment Southland for next winter.
When asked about the boycott plan, O’Connor said consenting and enforcement was a matter for regional councils.
‘‘There is nothing to be gained by ignoring requirements,’’ he said.
Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell, who attended the meeting, said he was concerned that people might be confused by the rules and the call for a boycott.
‘‘Farmers are pretty smart, and if they chose to graze on a flat paddock or leave the steep bit out so they meet all the rules, they’re not going to have a problem,’’ he said.
About 800 people attended the meeting at the stadium, and more than 300 watched a livestream.
Hunt encouraged farmers to consider their own circumstances before deciding whether to boycott the resource consent process and also to continue the good work they had done in improving winter grazing practices.
In September, the regional council estimated about 2000 farmers would have to apply for a consent.
The application deposit $1725.
In September, Environment Southland announced it had introduced a deemed permitted activity for farmers who do not meet the slope criteria in the National Environment Standards for Freshwater rules on winter grazing but who meet all other permitted activity criteria.
‘‘We’ve worked pretty hard to give people another option so that people will have some certainty around what they are doing, and I think we’ll probably do a bit more advertising around that as well,’’ Horrell said.
‘‘Most people will be doing the right thing anyway, and I’ve been really impressed with the way they have improved their winter grazing practices in the last couple of years.’’
Environment Southland consents manager Bruce Halligan said the regional council’s focus continued to be on working with the rural sector to encourage compliance with the existing rules for winter grazing by providing advice and education on the three pathways available.