Taranaki dairy farmers are leading by example after achieving a near 100% success rate in reporting their nitrogen usage on pasture land, the region’s environmental watchdog says.
Compliance Manager Jared Glasgow is delighted with the 98% reporting rate and hopes farmers can hit 100% for the 2024/25 season.
Taranaki Regional Council hailed the response of farmers across the region in submitting information and complying with the rules after figures showed a reporting rate of 97.8% for the 2023/24 reporting period.
Some 1,436 dairy farm operations out of a total of 1,468 provided the data to the Council via fertiliser companies or an online portal. Just 17 of those who submitted the information exceeded the nitrogen cap (NCAP) limit of no more than 190 kilograms per hectare per year of synthetic nitrogen.
Compliance Manager Jared Glasgow thanked farmers for their mahi and for helping Taranaki to be among the top regions in New Zealand for the number of dairy farmers submitting the data.
“It’s pleasing to not only see so many operations in Taranaki providing this information to us but also to see so few farmers exceeding the limits set by the Government in its freshwater reforms,” says Mr Glasgow.
“This once again reinforces that Taranaki Regional Council has a strong and close working relationship with farmers who know we are there to work with them and talk through any issues they have around rules and regulations.”
Mr Glasgow also thanked fertiliser companies Ravensdown and Ballance for their work in enabling farmers to provide the data to the Council.
Submission numbers have been steadily rising from 510 in 2021-2022, 1,103 in 2022-2023 to 1,436 in the 2023-2024 reporting year.
Farmers are now being urged to help the region achieve a 100% compliance rate, with reporting for the 2024/25 season required by the Council by the end of July.
To report the data, farmers can use their fertiliser provider or a national online portal. Information on these tools can be found at trc.govt.nz/ncap.
“As ever, our staff are happy to talk to any farmers who want to know more or have any concerns about these rules or any other regulation we enforce. Give us a call on 0800 736 222 and we can have a chat,” added Mr Glasgow.