Farmers flock for One Plan hearing

There was barely standing room, as farmers crowded in to support Federated Farmers' submission on Horizons' proposed One Plan.

Federated Farmers said unless Horizons had farmers on board, it would not be able to implement the plan.

It was giving its submission as part of the One Plan water hearings, being held before a panel of four commissioners.

They will decide what form the plan should take.

They heard submissions from Horizons staff and scientists during December and January about what they believed was the most effective way to clean up the environment.

It is those who oppose at least parts of the plan who are having their say now. Submitters include farmers, Fonterra, city and district councils and power companies.

Federated Farmers' Manawatu-Rangitikei president Gordon McKellar and vice-president Andrew Hoggard presented submissions, as did Wanganui Federated Farmers president Tim Mathews.

The boardroom at Horizons set aside for the hearing was not big enough for the more than 100 farmers who wanted to hear and support the federation's submission. Extra chairs were brought in, partitions were removed and a video link was put through to a room next door, in an effort to give all members of the public access to the hearing.

While most were farmers from Manawatu, Horowhenua and Rangitikei, there was also a handful of scientists, environmentalists and Horizons staff who have been involved with the plan.

Andrew Hoggard, who has a dairy farm at Kiwitea, spoke about the impact of the proposed plan on dairy farmers.

"Farmers recognise they have an impact on the environment, but there is no level of support for Horizons taking such a regulatory approach."

Mr Hoggard said farmers were not on board with the Farmer Applied Resource Management (Farm) strategy, which was part of the plan's tool for reducing farm contaminants.

"We surveyed farmers. Of 2146, there were only three against the federation's call for a non-regulatory approach."

He told the commissioners the main concern from the dairy farmers' perspective was the claim that there was a boom in dairying and rapid intensification (higher stocking rates).

But Mr Hoggard said that was not the case.

"In 11 years, there are a quarter fewer dairy farms. There has been a growth in effective dairying area of 8 per cent and cow numbers are up 15 per cent." He said that was hardly a boom, with an increase of 0.7 percent per annum.

Mr Hoggard said dairy farmers were now able to buy more shares in Fonterra that were for the first time not linked to milk production.

"People like me will reinvest the dividend from Fonterra in shares. Shares are easier work than cows. You don't have to have staff, and you don't have to get up at 4.30am to milk them."

What about the impact of dairying on the environment?

"Eleven years ago, there was no Clean Streams Accord or Fonterra. Instead, there were many different dairy co-operatives. There was a void when it came to environmental concerns.

"Effluent disposal systems were very basic. I shudder to think what I had back then. We weren't thinking about the environment."

But Mr Hoggard said farmers' attitudes and practices have improved dramatically since then.

Federated Farmers said it wanted an easy-to-apply system, with any improvement in environmental practices made easy and cheaper for farmers. It also reiterated that it wanted and expected a voluntary system. It said such a system would have more farmers on board.

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