Putting together a farm environment plan doesn’t have to be a painful process but plenty of thought needs to go into what you commit to and how you’re going to prove you’re doing it.
The 12-year lease land brought into the milking platform this season.
Soil test results, fertiliser plans and GPS results from the TracMap information are all kept as evidence along with nutrient budgets that are done annually as required by Fonterra and considered to be at a good management standard.
Tom’s working with his Ravensdown agri-manager so nutrient budgets can be done with increasing precision on the various management blocks on the farm so that’s listed as an agreed action for improvement.
Nutrient budgets are an example of documentation farmers have to supply to multiple parties.
Charlotte says there’s a lot of work going on at the moment to simplify and streamline the reporting systems for farmers to ensure what’s required by one authority – whether it be an irrigation company, regional council or processor – has the same standard requirements as the others.
“It’s a matter of making sure farmers only have to do these things once and they can then either be accessed by the parties that need them or at least provided to them as copies without having to make changes because everyone wants slightly different information,” Charlotte says.
Various portal and on-line based mapping and record keeping services are already provided by companies to record activities such as irrigation scheduling and fertiliser and effluent applications.
Ravensdown for instance holds information for farmers through the My Ravensdown portal that can readily be used as evidence when it comes time for the farm environment plan to be audited.
Managing the risks associated with the operation of the effluent system so it’s compliant 365 days a year is also an objective on the SMP.
The Irvings have two large effluent ponds that include a solids settling pond and a 2000 cubic metre second pond to store what’s effectively green water.
The liquid effluent is then pumped out through the centre pivot over 56ha and Tom’s found no major problems with nozzle blockages.
He’s put up a whiteboard in the pump shed where the valves are that send the effluent into the pivot.
The date, start and stop times of effluent application are recorded there to make it simple and information is recorded accurately.
A photo taken with the smartphone can then be used as evidence for the SMP audit.
Tom uses soil moisture monitoring to determine when to apply the effluent which goes beyond good management practice.
The records from the soil moisture monitoring reports and effluent irrigation dates can be married up as evidence of the practice.
Maintenance of the effluent system is categorised as good management practice and is recorded in the farm diary which can then be used to prove what he’s done when.
A quick photo of receipts and there’s evidence of any outside repairs or new parts.
Adequate staff training is also good management, with the farm diary another good place to record that along with any minutes from staff meetings.
The volume of storage and reliability of the centre pivot means the system overall is reliable but an agreed action for improvement has been additional risk management options being put in place along with formal procedures so staff know what to do if there is a breakdown reducing the dependence on Tom being there at the time.
Although the farm is flat and has no streams or rivers running through it many of the management actions are considered good management practices when it comes to the objectives relating to soils and should be noted in the SMP, Charlotte says.
That objective is to maintain or improve the physical and biological condition of the soils in order to minimise the movement of sediment, phosphorous and other contaminants to water ways.
Tom uses on-off grazing when soil conditions require it and records that in the farm diary or with a photo although an agreed action for improvement is to better define the policy and keep that in the farm diary so staff understand it too.
The shortage of irrigation water over past seasons has meant Tom’s included summer turnips on the milking platform with the crop typically yielding 4.5-5 tonnes drymatter/ha.
It’s been a good option in terms of optimising the use of available irrigation and protecting soils from the effects of dry conditions in typical years.
Summer drought last season meant about 21ha of pasture wasn’t able to be watered well either and that area’s being regrassed this spring.
Tom’s direct drilling an Italian ryegrass into those paddocks to help protect the soil structure but will turn it over when he establishes permanent pastures into those paddocks.
Again photos can be taken when re-grassing is being carried out to show the practices used.
Tom’s SMP documents the maintenance of tracks and infrastructure as good management practices being carried out to protect soils and minimise movement of sediment, with photos and notes kept in the farm diary when any maintenance work is carried out.
Because there are no waterways or wetlands on the property the only good management practice noted under the objective relating to those areas is the on-going maintenance of fenceline plantings, which are extensive on the property.
The last objective in the SMP is to manage offal and rubbish pits to minimise risks to health and water quality.
Rubbish and dead animals are taken off-farm and that’s recorded in the farm diary.
“Tom and Sarah don’t really have many actions they need to take to get them to good management at all so that part of the process is pretty simply.
“And the thought they’ve put into collecting and recording evidence for the audit should make that a pretty pain-free exercise too,” Charlotte says.
If it’s not all at your fingertips though, that process could be time consuming and stressful.
Keep the system simple
It’s all in your attitude – you can either see farm environment plans as a costly, time-consuming exercise or embrace them as a way to improve business performance and get the most out of the inputs you’re using.
Ultimately they could even be the catalyst to reassess your farming strategy altogether.
So don’t be afraid of them and the industry-agreed, good management practice objectives, Canterbury consultant contracted to Ravensdown Charlotte Glass implored farmers at the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE) where she and Ravensdown farm environmental consultant Anna McLachlan presented a paper on farm environment planning.
Charlotte recounted hearing seasoned farmers talking about the plans recently and remembering when GST was first introduced.
While many had decried GST as simply adding cost to their business the net effect had been a sharpening in the focus on financials.
But she warned that the auditing process could be a nightmare if farmers had to spend days in the office trying to find supporting information to prove they’d done what they said they would.
“If that’s what you end up doing the whole process becomes stressful and you end up costing yourself time and money and that risks you losing some of the value you got from carrying out the plan in the first place,” she said.
Keep the recording of evidence simple and use existing systems such as irrigation scheduling reports from soil moisture monitoring systems or reports and maps in portals such as My Ravensdown.
Take photos, screen shots and keep electronic documents in an evidence folder on the computer but remember to back it up.
Notes in the farm diary are also evidence so make sure you record activities as and when they happen.
