New Zealand dairy farmers are failing to clean up their act, according to the latest audit of the sector, with effluent rule compliance getting worse in the past year.

Agriculture minister David Carter, Fonterra and farmer groups have described the latest pollution report as “extremely disappointing”, “completely unacceptable” and “totally unacceptable”.

The Clean Streams Accord results for 2008/09 show non-compliance with regional council rules rose to 15 per cent, compared with 12 per cent a year earlier.

The latest update of the ‘Dairying and Clean Streams Accord’ – an agreement signed in May 2003 between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry for the Environment, Fonterra and Local Government New Zealand was published this morning.

It shows that full compliance rates with effluent disposal requirements fell – dropping from 64 per cent in 2007/08 to 60 per cent in 2008/09 season.

The level of “significant non-compliance” nationally now at 15 per cent, up on the 2007/08 season’s 12 per cent. ‘Significant non-compliance’ is a situation where rules and/or resource consents are breached, resulting in a greater potential for environmental degradation.

The Green Party said the latest report showed the time had come for Government to step in and regulate to prevent further pollution of New Zealand’s rivers and streams.

Voluntary measures, like the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord, which relied on individual farmers to make improvements to their practices and report their own progress, were simply not enough of an incentive, said party co-leader Russel Norman.

Norman said Agriculture Minister David Carter should step in.

“Last year, the Minister said that his Government’s preference is for voluntary industry-led environmental management, but if the sector was not responsive, they would act,” said Norman.

“We can see now that the sector is not responsive. It’s time for the Minister to make good on his promise. He is talking tough, but this means nothing without action,” said Norman.

Fonterra issued a statement saying the latest results were “completely unacceptable” and announcing what it described as “a major initiative to check every farm’s effluent management infrastructure, every year”.

The resources committed to the project would double – “to help suppliers achieve sustainable dairying on farm.”

Gary Romano, Fonterra’s managing director of trade and operations said the new project would be it be piloted in the Waikato from March this year, with national rollout from August.

“Our goal is to halve significant non-compliance with council dairy effluent rules within 18 months, then trending to zero,” he said. “Going out to every farm across the country, every year as part of the annual Farm Dairy Assessment is the best way to achieve this. We will be working in partnership with our farmers to achieve a marked improvement in compliance.”

Romano said there were “reasons, but no excuses” for the decline in compliance.

“Compliance monitoring has been stepped up, so obviously more non-compliance is being identified. We have also seen monitoring extended beyond the farm dairy to other areas such as feed pads and stock underpasses. But while these are contributors for the poor result, they are no excuse.

“Fonterra is determined to get on top of this effluent issue. The New Zealand community expects it, our customers expect it and the vast majority of our complying farmers expect it. We are determined to deliver on those expectations and partnering with our farmers to provide advice and support is the best way to achieve this.

Agriculture Minister David Carter said he was “putting dairy farmers who pollute on notice”.

Carter said the dairy industry as a whole would suffer through the damage caused to its national and international reputation, unless New Zealand can back up its claims of sustainable dairying with tangible action and evidence.

“You can argue the merits of dairy to our economy until the cows come home – but until every farmer takes responsibility for improving effluent management, the environment and dairying’s reputation will suffer.

“I am putting non-complying dairy farmers across the country on notice. You need to take individual responsibility for this issue and work more effectively with your neighbours, your regional councils and your industry body.

For the full article: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10632786

Source: NZ Herald

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