Essentially, it requires Waikato dairy farmers to get resource consent for water takes that are greater than 15m3 a site a day, about 215 cows, and are used for milk cooling and dairy washdown even if they have been doing it for years.
The complex rule changes have been causing some angst for dairy farmers since they came into force early last year. To ease some of the burden of applying for resource consent, DairyNZ is holding two-hour support sessions for farmers to complete their resource consent on the day. There will be specialists on hand for the more complex situations.
The sessions will be held across Waikato from the end of October to early December from 10am to noon. DairyNZ is urging all farmers who haven’t applied for consent to attend to make sure their application is lodged well before the January 1, 2015, deadline.
Information they will have to take to the sessions that is vital to completing the resource consent application includes:
• A farm map showing boundaries and the location of any ground or surface water takes or waterways on their farm;
• Cow numbers before and after October 15, 2008, (use herd or tax records or sharemilking contracts) and;
• Any information about the bore (depth, well construction) or surface water intake structure.
DairyNZ is also encouraging farmers to measure their water use in the farm dairy this peak season. Having an accurate measure of how much water they need for milk cooling and dairy washdown, instead of relying on a default calculation of 70 litres a cow a day, is important to ensure they get the right amount of water for their system.
Grandparent rule
Variation 6 is not a new rule as it has always been in the Waikato Regional Plan. But it was never actively enforced or well known among farmers.
Recognising this, the Environment Court directed the Waikato Regional Council to include a rule to grandparent water takes which are used for milk cooling and dairy wash-down and existed before October 15, 2008. This means while consent is still required, it will be granted.
Water takes that did not exist at October 15, 2008, (eg, increases in cow numbers or conversions) will not have the same level of protection. Instead, they are subject to the traditional first-in, first-served process where applications are granted in the order they are received. The danger here is that if a farmer is ninth in the queue and the water resource reaches full allocation at the eighth application, their application might not be granted.
This will be a reality for many farmers in the region and why DairyNZ is urging all farmers to attend these support sessions to complete their resource consent application as soon as possible.
It has also created a Guide to Variation 6 which outlines different farm scenarios and provides information about what it means for each farm, what they need to do, when and why. It can be downloaded from www.dairynz.co.nz/v6.
It’s essential that farmers RSVP to attend these sessions, email variation6@dairynz.co.nz or phone 07 858 2768. For dates see Dairy Diary or visit www.dairynz.co.nz/v6events.
Brigid Buckley is a DairyNZ developer, sustainability.
