Farm Environment Plans and new government requirements

The New Zealand government is drafting new freshwater regulations for certified and audited Farm Environment Plans as well as reviewing the Resource Management Act.

By Ailsa Robertson : Sustainability and Extension Manager, HortNZ

These regulations will set the bar for farm plans across the country. To meet the regulations, growers with five hectares or more of horticultural land use will need to have a certified and audited farm plan. In the farm plan, growers will need to show they are managing any adverse environmental effects of their growing operation. The level of ambition in a grower's farm plan will depend on adverse effects identified. It will also need to align with the freshwater vision and values of the catchment(s) that they grow in.

Horticulture New Zealand advocates for industry assurance programmes, like GLOBALG.A.P. and NZGAP, as the primary vehicle to deliver certified and audited farm plans. Over 90% of growers in New Zealand are certified through GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) programmes for food safety. GAP modules are also available for social practice and environmental management. The GAP programmes provide a streamlined and integrated approach to meeting a range of market access and regulatory requirements. GAP environment modules like NZGAP's Environment Management System (EMS) add-on, benchmarked to regulation, can help growers document their practices to sustainably manage soils, nutrients, irrigation and biodiversity through a farm plan. We don’t know when the new freshwater regulations will come into force, so I urge you to get started now. All GAP certified growers can use the EMS to develop their farm plan to meet the new regulations.

HortNZ is also offering support to growers through workshops. Our first workshops are for vegetable growers in Gisborne and Pukekohe in the first half of 2021. The workshops will step through a Farm Environment Plan using the EMS add-on to GAP. We plan to visit other regions later this year, and next year. If you would like know about available support in your area, or how to build your farm plan at home, please contact your local District Association, Product Group, or HortNZ.

A new GAP farm plan module is also in the pipeline for agricultural greenhouse gases. This module will help growers meet new legislation requirements.1 The first milestone is just around the corner. By the end of 2022, all farms need to document their total annual emissions in their farm plan. For most growers, you will only need to know your emissions from fertiliser use, in tonnes of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide per year. HortNZ will release more guidance for growers on this in the coming months.

1 https://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate-change/he-waka-eke-noa-primarysector-climate-change-action-partnership

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