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Southland dairy farmers are getting better at complying with effluent regulations, even though most of their national counterparts are struggling.

A new report providing a snapshot of the industry's compliance record has highlighted issues over how effluent is handled, raising questions about how quickly farmers are responding to environmental concerns.

The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord report, made public yesterday, shows compliance with effluent regulations in the 2008-09 season declined nationally, with only 60 per cent of dairy farms fully complying with regulations, down from 64 per cent in 2007-08.

The figures led to Fonterra unveiling a new initiative yesterday under which it will check every supplying farm's effluent system to try to address the problem.

The initiative complements Fonterra's Effluent Improvement Scheme, where deductions of up to $3000 can be made from milk cheques or milk collection stopped for a farmer's continued non-compliance.

The new checks will be piloted in Waikato immediately and be rolled out nationally from August.

In Southland, full compliance has increased from 65 per cent to 69 per cent, even though the number of dairy farms in the province has increased from 658 to 752.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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