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ACT primary industries spokesperson Mark Cameron.
ACT primary industries spokesperson Mark Cameron has joined the chorus of people asking the Government to hold off on the deadline for farmers to submit their farm environment plans.
He joins Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Federated Farmers and DairyNZ in the call.
“With the November 1st cut off date approaching fast it’s estimated more than 40% of farmers have been unable to get a plan formulated. In the absence of farm environment plans it’ll be up to overworked councils to grant consents for next year’s winter grazing crops,” Cameron says.
He says councils are overworked and under resourced, labelling the assumption they could work through the number of on-farm consents required a “pipe dream”, particularly for farmers in Otago and Southland who are preparing for next year’s winter grazing crops.
“Farm environment plans are an integral part of farming operations, but the resources available to farmers to get them done and the tight timeframes simply don’t make sense.”
Cameron points to the most recent Federated Farmers Farmer Confidence Survey, which recorded the lowest levels of confidence among farmers since the survey’s inception in 2009.
“As a dairy farmer myself, I know that farmers are best environmentalists around. We kept the economy going through COVID. It’s time the Government gave us a break.”
As farmers begin thinking about establishing next year’s winter forage crops, Beef + Lamb NZ is encouraging farmers to carefully consider what crops they are planting and where.
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