Changes wanted to stock exclusion rules

"Our position has been clear all along - we want the inaccurate low-slope map to be deleted and replaced with a general rule that regional councils would be empowered to give effect to," BLNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says.

The Government's current low-slope map identifies thousands of hectares of steep land as low-slope which therefore is required to be fenced. "Tinkering around the edges of the unworkable and inaccurate national-scale map won't get the right outcomes - we need regional approaches."

McIvor says the Government's decision to support an industry-led Intensive Winter Grazing (IWG) module to farm plans in the coming year and to delay the implementation of the winter grazing rules shows that arbitrary rules are not the right approach. "We have been very clear that farmers need workable and relevant rules and have been advocating for effects-based approaches at the paddock scale to both IWG and to stock exclusion, delivered through effective farm planning."