Fed Farmers could back ‘farm plans’ – but set four conditions

Federated Farmers says it could support a ‘national farm plan system’ under the Government’s proposed Resource Management Act overhaul, but only if four key conditions are met.

In an email today Vice President Colin Hurst said the organisation had reviewed draft legislation within the Natural Environment Bill and remained concerned the current proposals risked adding complexity rather than reducing it.

Hurst said farm plans should act as a practical tool to improve freshwater outcomes in ways tailored to individual properties, rather than becoming “another layer of costly, time-consuming regulation.” Federated Farmers’ first “bottom line” is that farm plans must replace existing regulations, not sit alongside them. He said they should serve as the primary compliance mechanism, removing overlapping rules, duplicated requirements and unnecessary resource consent processes.

The second condition is that any system must be proportionate and scaled to environmental risk. Hurst said low-impact farms should be able to complete straightforward plans themselves, while higher-risk operations may require more detailed documentation. “There’s no justification for putting low-risk farmers through the wringer,” he said.

Thirdly, while acknowledging that farm plans should be auditable, Hurst argued not every plan should be subject to audit. He said many farming activities are already considered low-risk and do not require consents or ongoing oversight, warning that mandatory audits in such cases would create red tape “for no environmental gain.” He suggested a targeted model, comparable to the tax system, would be more effective.

Finally, Federated Farmers is calling for recognition of existing farm plans. Hurst said many farmers have already invested significant time and money developing plans under current frameworks, and forcing them to start again would be unjustifiable.

The organisation has formally presented its four conditions to the Government and says it will continue advocating for a farm plan system that reduces compliance burdens while recognising farmers’ existing efforts.

The national farm plan system is a proposed nationwide regulatory framework intended to manage environmental compliance on farms through property-specific management plans, rather than multiple separate rules and consents.

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