Its latest effluent monitoring data for the 2019-20 season showed that of the 663 farms that received ground inspections, 176 (26%) were fully compliant, 102 were found to have significant non-compliance, (15%) and the remaining 385 farms (58%) had moderate or low risk non-compliance.
The council also inspected an additional 157 by air only, meaning 820 farms were inspected in total. One hundred and eleven farms also received multiple visits throughout the season, some up to four times.
The covid-19 lockdown meant the council visited fewer farms than planned because farm inspections were considered a non-essential activity, unless it was responding to an incident.
Of the total farms, 272 are categorised by the council as being high risk of non-compliance.
Of these farms, 61 (22%) are fully-compliant, 55 (20%) are provisionally or have a high-level of compliance, and 59 (22%) are significantly non-compliant.
The main reasons for significant non-compliance are sump or pond overflow, ponding at the effluent irrigator and hydrant, feedpad and underpass discharges.
Those farms found to be moderately non-compliant had similar issues but were far less severe.
It was those 59 farms that needed to change the most, Waikato Regional Council compliance manager Patrick Lynch said.
“These are people who will have either an inadequate infrastructure, poor management, or a bad combination of both,” he said.
“These figures show there’s a long tail on the environmental effects of dairy farming that we all need to keep working on.”
During last season, there had been 43 abatement notices, 21 infringements, 153 informal warnings and 17 prosecutions, including six enforcement orders forcing those farmers to change their effluent system.
The reality is that there were around 20% of farmers who were letting the rest of the industry down, Lynch said.
“If you think of all the publicity around water quality, dairy effluent management, farmers being prosecuted – everything that the supply companies and DairyNZ have done – you have to say that today in 2020, what possible excuse could a dairy farmer have for not having adequate infrastructure and managing it well?” he asked.
“They are the laggards. They are the people who the rest of the industry must be frustrated with, that 22%.”
Waikato Regional Council farming services team leader Stuart Stone said in one example, a farm he and his team visited in 2018 was found to have severe infrastructure issues.
As a result, the farmer was required to put in additional storage, which they did by purchasing a bladder system.
The farmer rolled out the bladder on the area where it was to be installed but a recent council inspection revealed the farmer never bothered to hook it up to the effluent system, giving the appearance of additional storage when monitored from the air.
“We saw it yesterday. He doesn’t care,” Stone said.
Many were highly experienced farmers who told the council that this was the way they had always farmed, while other farmers had staff in senior positions who were not properly trained in effluent management, he said.
It masked the good work many in the industry were doing to manage effluent.
“Attitudes have changed tremendously and we just now need the poor performers to catch up with the attitude of the rest of the industry,” Stone said.
Lynch accompanied staff on some farm inspections from last sections and said they were well received by the farmers.
“Some of these farmers are really proud to show you what they have done,” he said.
Waikato Federated Farmers dairy chair Ben Moore said the results were disappointing.
“Those who are letting us down have to realise that Federated Farmers and the industry don’t condone this and they need to get it sorted out,” he said.
“That 22% are letting us all down.”
Those who refused to change will face enforcement either from the council or their dairy company.
Recent changes to the DIRA will also help dairy companies not collect milk from farmers who refuse to change, he said.
They had come a long way in action and attitude over the past five years when it came to effluent management.
“There have been a lot of ponds put in and the milk companies have worked hard with the council too,” Moore said.
While accidents and mechanical failure did occur, farmers should have measures in place to mitigate the risks of accidents happening.
His own effluent spreader sends out an alert and shuts down if there are issues, which it did recently, saving him from excessive ponding.
“It cost me $18,000 but it’s better than a $40,000 fine.”
