A “what-farmers-need-to-know” one pager has been produced by Beef + Lamb New Zealand to advise farmers about key concerns in the government’s proposed Essential Freshwater policy.
A “key issues” one-pager has been produced by Beef + Lamb New Zealand to focus in on the most important aspects of the government’s proposed Essential Freshwater policy.
The document highlights the areas of concern – namely grandparenting provisions and compliance costs – highlights what B+LNZ is doing, and lists how farmers can engage in the consultation process.
The sheep and beef sector supports the intent of the government’s proposals and has made having clean freshwater around their farms, that New Zealanders can swim in and gather food from, a key part of our environment strategy.
B+LNZ will be providing farmers with a template submission in the next week as one of the key things we have been hearing from farmers is that they want advice on what to say both at the Ministry for the Environment’s meetings and in their submissions. Over 2,000 farmers have engaged with B+LNZ over the last three weeks at our various events, including with Federated Farmers and DairyNZ.
General Manager South Island John Ladley says B+LNZ is very aware that this policy has been released at a time when farmers are busy with lambing, calving and drilling spring crops, yet some of the proposals have the potential to impact significantly on their businesses.
“It is important that farmers have an understanding of what is being proposed and how it could affect their farming businesses.”
“We are fortunate to have a talented team of people to pick through the detail of the proposed policy and while B+LNZ will be making submissions on behalf of the sector, we need farmers to make individual submissions and ensure their voices are heard.”
He strongly encourages farmers to attend a Ministry for the Environment (MfE) roadshow meeting and raise their concerns and a B+LNZ roadshow event, where staff will take farmers through the MfE proposals in more detail.
This consultation process from the Ministry for the Environment is hugely important, and the more feedback from farmers that the government receives, then we will be able to help shape sensible policies that meet the environmental objectives but are also practical and workable.
Find out more
The following is a link to a list of the current meetings and more information on the government’s freshwater consultation process: https://beeflambnz.com/freshwaterconsultation