Environment Southland (ES) will shortly be back on the road, and in the skies, checking farmers' winter fodder paddocks for potential water quality issues.

They will be making sure critical source areas have been left uncultivated, buffer zones are in place by waterways, how feed crops are being used to keep vegetation between waterways and animals, and if the paddocks look like they could pose an increased risk of overland flow.

Any farmers identified with higher risk paddocks will be visited by the ES land sustainability team, to ensure their is a plan in place, but also to offer advice on how best to manage any problem paddocks.

Environment Southland chief executive Rob Phillips said he was keen to ensure farmers were supported and well prepared for winter grazing this season. 

“We appreciate the hard work farmers have put in improving their wintering practices over the last few years. There is a continued spotlight on Southland farmers’ wintering practices so they need to be prepared and vigilant through winter to ensure their wintering practices continue to improve,” Phillips said.

Federated Farmers junior vice president, and intensive winter grazing spokesperson Jason Herrick agreed systems management around intensive winter grazing had improved immensely over the last 10 years ago.

"Everyone is understanding and using the tools a lot better," Herrick said.

However he identified farmers understanding of critical source areas as a subject that still required some work.

"A critical source area is anywhere where water can flow and take nutrients and mud away, which then flows into a water source," Herrick said.

"[It was important] to identify those early before the big rain events happen', he said.

Herrick expected similar numbers to last year with only a few farmers needing to be visited. He said all were easy to work with to help improve their systems.

Poor intensive winter grazing practices can cause significant damage to Murihiku Southland’s freshwater quality through sediment and effluent runoff leading to excess nitrogen, phosphorus and bacteria to waterways. It can also affect soil structure and health, and in some cases animal welfare.