MEDIA RELEASE

Wednesday 13 June, 2012

Dairy compliance stats one of the highest ever

The final dairy farm compliance statistics for the Horizons Region are out and they make pleasing reading. Of the 922 farms inspected over the 2011/12 season, 91% were graded as ‘compliant’, a testament to the considerable efforts put in across the board to lift standards.

The 2011/12 result is one of the highest ever achieved in the Horizons Region with the average compliance rate over the last eight years at 83.2%. The statistics were also up 10% on the 2010/11 results. Non complying farms were graded either as ‘minor or technical non-compliance’ (2%) or ‘significant non compliance’ (7%).

“Many dairy farmers within our region have put in significant effort to head towards best industry practice, these results reflect that effort,” said chair of Horizons Environment Committee Jill White.

“It also reflects the substantial amount of work that has gone into this programme by council staff.”

Horizons environmental protection manager, Alison Russell, said the improved compliance rates could be attributed to a number of factors.

“Many farmers are upgrading their dairy systems, dairy staff are being sent on trainings, more accurate records are being kept and farmers are proactively seeking information from our staff during inspection visits.”

In addition to seeking information from environmental protection staff, industry representatives from both Fonterra and Dairy NZ have provided support, alongside Horizons’ Rural Advice team. Dairy farmers have also been able to keep up to date with best practice thanks to the bi-monthly Horizons dairy newsletter.

“We hope we can build on these rates in the season to come and look forward to working with dairy farmers in our region to make this achievable,” said Ms Russell.

“I am incredibly happy with the high compliance levels,” Federated Farmers Manawatu/Rangitikei provincial president Andrew Hoggard said.

“This is not a time to rest on our laurels. There is still plenty more work to be done, but the vast majority are taking the environment seriously and their hard work and investment should be recognised more often,

“Those who have been found non-compliant should be talking to Horizons staff or members of the Federation’s Manawatu/Rangitikei executive about how they can fix any problems they may have, but overall, the region’s dairy farmers deserve a huge pat on the back, said Mr Hoggard.

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