The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord: Snapshot of Progress 2008/09

Executive Summary

  • The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord remains a key environmental initiative, alongside a wide range of other projects and strategies, set up to support and improve the dairy industry’s environmental, social and economic performance.
  • To date, two of the five Accord 2007 targets have been met.
  • Good progress has been made towards meeting the Accord target for excluding stock from waterways. Sixty-four percent of Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited’s (Fonterra) suppliers have waterways that meet the Accord definition. Dairy cattle are excluded from waterways on 80 percent of those farms with all regions now having achieved the 2007 target. Three regions have also achieved the 2012 target of 90 percent of waterways protected. Fewer than 2 percent of Accord-type crossings still require bridging or culverts. Taranaki suppliers were excluded because information relating to waterways is provided directly by the Taranaki Regional Council through its farm planning programme. This programme differs to the Accord because it imposes riparian fencing and planting requirements on those farmers with riparian plans and covers a wider range of waterways.
  • Less favourable is the progress made towards full compliance with regional council dairy effluent rules and consent conditions. Nationally, the level of full compliance dropped from 64 percent in the 2007/081 season to 60 percent this past season. In part, this reflects increased compliance monitoring and the inclusion of feed pads and other ancillary functions in monitoring, previously restricted to farm dairies. Across the regions compliance varied between 39 percent and 96 percent. Of the major dairy regions, Taranaki maintained a high level of effluent compliance (96 percent) representing 1764 of the region’s 1837 farms.
  • Nationally, the average level of significant non-compliance increased from 12 percent in 2007/08 to 15 percent in 2008/09. This level of non-compliance is unacceptable and will continue to be a key focus for the industry and regional councils.
  • Fonterra has implemented an Effluent Improvement System (EIS) to support and promote improved effluent compliance.
  • Almost all farmers now have a nutrient budget compared to only one in five at the Accord’s outset in 2003. Data on the number of farmers actively using a nutrient management system is not yet being collected. A number of industry and council projects continue to raise awareness of efficient fertiliser use, the nutrient and economic value of farm dairy effluent, and reducing nutrient loss.
  • Seven of the 13 regional councils have defined and identified their “regionally significant wetlands”. Of these, three regions have met the 2005 target of having 50 percent of these wetlands fenced.

1 The 2007/08 compliance figures have been revised. This was due to incorrect weightings being applied to the data received from regional councils. The revised weightings have been calculated using Fonterra supplier numbers. The 2007/08 data from Auckland Regional Council was also amended as minor non-compliance was calculated as full compliance and was also updated in Auckland.

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