Frequently asked questions about Farm Plans

Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) originally did not propose any intensification or land use rules concerning farming in the Proposed Natural Resource Plan (PNRP). This was appealed and some parties wanted strict intensification rules, nutrient limits and consents to farm. Freshwater Farm plans (FWFP) under the RMA were taking a long time to develop and appellants weren't comfortable with the uncertainty. This mediation resulted in cFEPs. All parties involved in the mediation, including GWRC, agreed to the provisions in the consent order.

If all parties had not agreed to the mediation outcome (which informed the consent order) then the matter would have proceeded to a full Environment Court hearing.

The appellants were interested in how GW was giving effect to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM). The NPS-FM sets national bottom lines for water quality and quantity. GW runs the Whaitua process across the region to fulfill the planning requirements for this.

Most of the actions needed at the farm scale to deliver NPS-FM water quality/quantity outcomes will involve farmers using non-regulatory good management practices. The Natural Resource Plan (NRP) allows landowners to manage their farms and actions without a consent.

In identified catchments where water quality needs to improve significantly, there is now a requirement in the NRP that farms have a certified farm environment plan (cFEP). This is not a consent requirement; it is a permitted activity that makes farming in these catchments “permitted” without consent provided that a certified farm plan is in place by a defined date.

The catchments where cFEPs are required were chosen using the already prioritised catchments listed in Method 10 of the PNRP, recommendations within the Ruamahanga Whaitua Implementation Plan and through scientific evidence such as state of the environment reporting. The exercise involved prioritising surface water catchments to control diffuse nutrient discharges from rural land use where they were having the greatest effect.

It aimed to reduce the number of landowners effected.

The catchments are surface water catchments defined using GIS technology to assess the flow and direction of water within a catchment.

Water quality is monitored by Greater Wellington’s state of the environment monitoring programme. The monitoring results can be found on the LAWA website.

CFEP's will not be made available publicly on GW website. The plans will be available internally to our Ecosystem and Community and Strategy Policy and Regulation teams.

If/when a LGOIMA request is received for information regarding a certified farm environment plan submitted to us, the assigned drafting officer will assess the information and whether withholding grounds apply.

The withholding grounds are in section 6 and 7 of LGOIMA, and Democratic Services staff can work through considerations with the drafting officer and decision-makers at the appropriate time.

One of the grounds in section 7 is to withhold information under privacy (7(2)(b)(ii)).

Healthy freshwater supports healthy communities, a healthy environment, and a healthy economy. However, freshwater quality is declining. It is being impacted by urban development, agriculture, horticulture, forestry and other activities.

Farm Environment Plans (FEPs) can benefit your property and farm by:

• Aligning your farm system to work best with the environment around you.
• Flexibility to find the right solution for your farms and catchments.
• Increasing soil health and water quality leading to healthy animals & people.
• Identifying opportunities to improve on-farm biodiversity.

At Greater Wellington, we’re dedicated to enabling continuous environmental improvement on farms that is informed by catchment scale objectives and priorities.

Farm planning in the Wellington region has been focused on engaging with landowners in catchments with the greatest need, as identified through our Whaitua process. The aim is to identify key risk areas and implement Good Management Practices.

We’ve been helping farmers in our region with Farm Environment Plans since the 1950s. There have been different iterations of farm environment plans over the years and certified farm environment plans build on previous plans.

The requirements for cFEP’s are set out in our Natural Resources Plan for the Wellington Region. Rule 110, schedule Z.

Freshwater Farm Plans are set out under the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020, national regulations.

The Certified Environment Farm Plan Process has been specifically drafted so that it does not duplicate the Freshwater Farm Plan Process – only one farm plan will be required.

FWFPs are different from Certified Farm Environment Plans (CFEP) in that there is no catchment context, challenges, and values component (CCCV) in CFEPs, although we are working with rural professionals and farm plan certifiers to ensure that on-farm actions are aligned with the catchment context.

CFEPs do not require auditing the completion of actions, which aligns well with GW’s support and incentive programmes that have been running for decades to support farm environment planning. Apart from these differences, CFEPs and FWFPs are very similar in that they identify environmental risks and mitigations on farms.

FWFPs and CFEPs will both be property-specific and provide farmers with the flexibility to find the right solution for their farms and catchments.

Many farmers in the region already have made a good start. For example, many are part of an industry programme supporting them to complete or update farm environment plans to be compliant with CFEP and/or FWFP requirements.

Many farmers already have a “non-regulatory” FEP developed in partnership with GW in previous years and FWFPs/CFEPs will build on that work.

The FWFP and CFEPs will support existing industry programmes being used to meet regulatory requirements. We are actively working with the industry to ensure their programmes align with the CFEP and FWFP requirements.

The Government has announced its intentions to improve the FWFP system so that they are more cost-effective and practical for farmers. They have confirmed their support for FWFP as a key tool to improve freshwater outcomes. While this happens, the Order in Council process which sets out the next areas to go live in our Region is currently on hold.

Once in effect, farm operators in areas where FWFPs are in effect will have 18 months to prepare their first plan for certification.

For more information on FWFPs check out the Ministry for the Environment website.

If you have any questions, please email us at farmplans@gw.govt.nz and we’ll get in touch with you.

1. Find out whether your property has over 20ha of pastoral or arable land or 5ha of horticultural land within one of the cFEP priority catchments. You can use the map on our website to search for your address or contact us directly through farmplans@gw.govt.nz and an Advisor will find out for you.
2. Have a read through your existing Farm Plan.
3. Check out the cFEP template or guidance documents on GWRC website. This is a good time to reach out to a certifier to let them know you need them to certifier your plan. You can decide to update the plan yourself using the template and guidance or you can ask the certifier to do this for you. You will need to ask if the certifier is also a qualified nutrient advisor so that they can do the risk assessment part of the cFEP for you.
4. You can find the list of certifiers here.
5. GWRC has a lot of information that can help with the mapping component of the cFEP. Get in touch with your Advisor or email farmplans@gw.govt.nz.
6. Remember GW is here to help. If you have questions along the way, please get in touch!

Our GWRC advisors currently assist farmers and growers with farm planning work. This involves identifying and targeting mitigations on properties that will improve freshwater quality.

GWRC can provide landowners with a range of free information about their properties including; aerial photography, soil information, slope and NZ Land Resource Inventory information.

GWRC has a list of provisionally approved certifiers that can help farmers and growers certify their plans and demystify regulation.

If you want to find out more about Farm Planning, get in touch with a GWRC Advisor through the FarmPlans@gw.govt.nz.

The cost of a cFEP is dependant on a number of factors including the individual cost of the certifier, the size and intensity of the farming system, whether the farm has an existing farm environmental plan, and the amount of time the farm owner/operator is willing to put into developing their cFEP.

All cFEPs must be certified by an approved certifier. Each certifier is an independent contractor and therefore have their own costs for services they offer. It is recommended to contact several certifiers to get an idea of cost for individual situations.

The more work the farm owner/operator does on their cFEP will likely reduce the certifiers time and therefore cost to certify the plan. GW resources have been tailored to this approach, allowing owners/operators to develop as much of their cFEP as possible. To access these resources, which include a template, guidance document, and free mapping tool, please visit our website. There also may be upcoming information sessions or workshops which will guide farmers through the process. Relevant details are available on our website.

If you have any questions, or need further support, please contact us at farmplans@gw.govt.nz 

20ha is in line with the requirements set out by FWFP’s, which a lines itself with GW goal of having one plan.

The land does not need to share a common boundary but 20ha of pastural or arable (or 5ha Horticultural) needs to be within a catchment boundary.

The rule doesn’t specify who is responsible for the cFEP so ultimately all parties involved are liable for non-compliance if it occurs. That could be the leasee and the landowner, depending on the arrangement.

The cFEP is reflective of the business operation i.e. the animals and inputs to the land. So there is an element of responsibility from both parties. Everyone’s lease situation will be slightly different. We recommend to leaseholders/landowners that they have a chat with the other party and ensure they’re on the same page as it impacts them both.

If the land is used in the same farming system, ie stock are moved between the different blocks of land it makes practical sense to include them in one certified farm environment plan because they are part of the same farm operation.

Each farm and business situation is different. It will be up to the farmer and/or plan writer to develop a farm plan that’s logical, easy to use whilst meeting the Schedule Z requirements for all pieces of land.

We would encourage farmers to talk with a certifier about how this may look and costing options before developing their own plan.

If the block of land is in a different catchment, then it may pose different types of risks to identify & consider in your farm plan.