The following was emailed to farmers in districts that are included in PC1 on 2 September 2025.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has been involved in an Environment Court hearing process relating to PC1 since 2020. Most recently, we’ve been running a joint case with Federated Farmers as the ‘joint farming parties’.
Throughout this process we’ve been advocating for provisions to be practical and workable for our farmers. It’s critical that B+LNZ remains involved in this process to its conclusion to ensure the rules are implementable. We’d like to thank the farmers involved for the huge amount of input they’ve provided.
While this matter is still before the Court, a final decision is expected in December 2025 so the joint farming parties felt it was timely to provide their farmers with an update on what PC1 will likely mean for them.
Background to PC1
Waikato Regional Council (WRC) first notified PC1 in 2016. It introduces new rules and requirements for farming in the Waikato and Waipā River catchments.
Unique to the Waikato region is Te Ture Whaimana (Vision & Strategy), the primary direction setting document for the Waikato and Waipā Rivers. PC1 is intended to contribute towards achieving Te Ture Whaimana by making a 20 percent improvement towards the long-term water quality outcomes for the four contaminants of concern.
Who PC1 applies to
PC1 applies to all farming activities in the 1.1-million-hectare Waikato and Waipā river catchments (roughly from Pokeno in the north to Tauhara in the south).
If you farm in this area, PC1 will likely affect you in some way so it’s important you stay informed.
How PC1 will affect farmers
The Environment Court released its interim decision in May 2025.
While B+LNZ is working with other industry organisations to seek further improvements, the following is a summary of the main expected outcomes.
It’s likely that under PC1 farms (above 20ha) will be categorised based on intensity and/or risk:
- Low-intensity or low risk farms will likely be permitted, meaning they don’t need a resource consent.
- Other farms may be subject to a consenting regime.
For drystock farming, we expect farm intensity level will be determined by the winter stocking rate.
Requirements farms will need to meet are likely to include the following:
- All farms over 20ha will also need a farm environment plan, which will include requirements to change some on-farm practices to reduce the impact on water quality.
- There will be minimum farming standards related to things like fertiliser use, forage crops, and stock exclusion. If the standards aren’t able to be met, it may also trigger the need for a resource consent.
- Cattle, horses and deer will need to be excluded from waterbodies on land with slopes up to 15 degrees, within up to 10 years of PC1 becoming operative.
- There are specific resource consent requirements for those farming within the Whangamarino Catchment.
- There will be restrictions on the ability to change land use from some types of farming to another – from forestry to dairy, or from drystock to dairy (but no restriction for dairy to drystock).
What this means
PC1 will likely mean you need to make changes to how you farm.
You may need to apply for a resource consent.
What you should do
We suggest you visit the WRC website for more information, and start thinking about what you may need to do on your farm.
Keep an eye out for more information in B+LNZ and other industry organisation channels.
Next steps
- There could potentially be a Court hearing in September, with a final decision on most matters expected in December.
- If there are no High Court appeals, PC1 will then become operative, and the clock will start ticking on the timeframes for getting a farm plan or resource consent.
- B+LNZ is encouraging WRC to think about implementation, with a focus on WRC creating farmer-focused guidance documents.
- B+LNZ is also looking at how we can support sheep and beef farmers when the new rules are rolled out.
B+LNZ’s work to date
B+LNZ has invested significant resources into the PC1 process over the last 12 years to try and achieve the best outcome we could. We have worked closely with other industry organisations, including our joint case with Federated Farmers.
Following the release of the Environment Court’s interim decision we have continued to work hard to achieve further improvements. We are hopeful that some may be made, but are conscious that some farmers will not be happy with the final outcome.
PC1 is a set of rules developed under the Resource Management Act (RMA). The Government is currently reviewing the RMA, with a view to introducing new legislation in 2026.