Northland Regional Plan

NRC is proposing rules to exclude stock from highly erodible land. It has identified that erodible land with a slope of 25 degrees or more accounts for a significant amount of sediment within waterways.  

To mitigate this NRC is proposing to exclude stock: 

• on land with a slope of between 25 and 35 degrees by 2040, and  
• on land with a slope greater than 35 degrees by 2035.  

These areas can be seen on this map.

For an average sheep and beef farm NRC is estimating the cost for excluding stock: 

• on land steeper than 35 degrees will cost between $9,200 to $13,700 per year over 30 years, and  
• for land between 25 and 35 degrees to cost between $16,500 to $24,700 per year over 30 years.  

The Council highlights that these costs can be offset by other land uses such as planting the land in permanent forest and claiming carbon credits.  

B+LNZ’s preliminary position: B+LNZ does not support the blanket retirement of land. B+LNZ supports farmers being able to identify areas of concern on their farm and mitigating concerns through practices that suit their farm system. 

Excluding stock and/or planting pine plantations is not the only answer to preventing erosion. Other techniques include grazing management, silvopasture techniques, and managing stock in adverse weather events. These can all be identified and actioned within a Farm Environment Plan.  

B+LNZ is also concerned with the unintended consequences of retiring land from sheep and beef farming. This includes issues associated with converting land to pine plantations, the spread of exotic weeds and pests, and increased fire risk from ungrazed pasture. Farmers should not be required to retire large areas of land while still needing to manage the costs of this retired land.  

NRC is proposing rules for excluding stock from waterways that go beyond national legislation.  

They are looking at a setback of 3, 5, or 10 metres for all permanent and intermittently flowing rivers, streams, and lakes regardless of slope. They are also recommending that these setback areas would be riparian planted.  

NRC have estimated the costs to be between $8,200 and $24,500 per farm per year for fencing depending on the setback: 

• $8,200 for 3 metre setback.
• $24,500 for 10 metre setback.  

In addition to these estimates riparian planting is expected to be $1,400 to $18,500 per farm per year.  

B+LNZ’s preliminary position: B+LNZ is concerned that NRC is going too far beyond national legislation. B+LNZ advocates councils to follow national regulations to avoid uncertainty and confusion. Stock exclusion requirements should be flexible for farmers to adapt and innovate to meet the multiple demands on their business. Blanket provisions that do not account for issues in fencing areas of high slope do not meet this requirement.  

B+LNZ does not agree that sheep should be included in stock exclusion regulatory requirements. Sheep do not have a natural tendency to stand in or disturb stream margins or beds. Therefore, the additional cost of a multiwire fence is a costly exercise to bring little environmental gain. A farmer would be better to invest in stock reticulation infrastructure to ensure sheep have access to drinking water outside of rivers, streams, and lakes. These decisions are best made by the farmer through a Farm Environment Plan rather than blanket provisions.  

We are concerned the proposed options are not a fair approach and will have severe impacts on sheep and beef farmers.  

NRC is proposing changes to water allocation. They are proposing that 20 percent of unallocated water is to be used for environmental enhancement, marae and papakainga, or developing Māori land. 

To learn more about changes to water allocation you can read the NRC Consultation document: Targeted Water Allocation Policy (PDF, 1.4 MB)

B+LNZ’s preliminary position: NRC must allow for a reasonable allocation of stock drinking water as required under the RMA. Stock drinking water must be readily available year-round and allow for periods of drought and low water flows.  

With the changes proposed for stock exclusion many sheep and beef farmers will be required to invest in stock reticulation systems which in turn may require more investment in, and consenting of, water storage and allocation, which the Council needs to be aware of.  

NRC needs to ensure it understands how various policies being proposed work together, to avoid unintended consequences. Additionally, water quantity policies must allow for building resilience to climate events and allow for reliable water sources into the future.