Southland farmers say a proposed change to a brand-new freshwater regulation defining soil “pugging’’ is a “minor start’’ and they will be keeping pressure on Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor to change more of the new rules as soon as possible.

Mr O’Connor has announced some of the new regulations contained in the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater will be changed. 

Cabinet gazetted changes to the pugging rule today.

There has been widespread protest from Federated Farmers groups since the new rules were passed last month. They take effect next Wednesday (September 3).

Southland Federated Farmers vice president Bernadette Hunt confirmed today (Wednesday August 26) a proposed boycott of winter grazing resource consent applications was still on the cards unless the rules were changed.

Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell told the Southland App yesterday some of the new rules were not practical and a meeting between staff, farmers and Government officials was needed “fairly shortly’’.

There’s been no word yet from Government officials on whether a meeting with Southland farmers and Environment Southland is possible.

Today’s changes are to the definition of pugging [soil penetration by a hoof of more than 5cm] and clarifying a 20cm pugging depth limit does not apply around fixed structures.

Mrs Hunt said there was no information yet on whether another unpopular rule requiring Southland farmers to sow winter crops by November 1 would be amended to address concerns about the practicality of getting that job done by that date in a wet season. 

The controversial spring sowing rule also meant “every single Southland farmer’’ could have to get resource consent for winter crops, which Mrs Hunt was “impossible to achieve’’ and “unimplementable for the council’’.

Clear direction and common sense around spring sowing was needed, Mr Horrell said. 

“I don’t see us getting out there on second of November and prosecuting people for having paddocks full of puddles,’’ he said.

Environment Southland has praised Southland farmers for good winter grazing practice this year: PHOTO: Dairy NZ

Mrs Hunt said Mr O’Connor had made a “huge concession’’ this week that the rules had gone too far but she wanted to see more details.

“A 5cm hoofprint is still a very minor hoofprint for a 600kg cow,’’ she said. 

She was also unclear about what “fixed structures’’ meant.

“One of the things he [the minister] said on the radio yesterday was they recognised lots of this stuff had gone too far... It is great to have recognition this is unworkable and that he’s promised there will be changes as required, so that’s a huge concession. We will keep the pressure up to make sure they know the extent of changes required,” Mrs Hunt said.

Mr O’Connor said "the regulations on pugging depths around fixed water troughs and gateways weren’t practical so we have made some adjustments to make them more realistic''.

"Discrete areas around fixed water troughs and gateways have now been exempted. We’ve also amended the definition for pugging to provide more clarity,” he said.

Mr O’Connor said the new regulations had to be sensibly applied. He noted other regulations needed to be adjusted, for example around maps and mapping data. Ministry officials were working on that project.

“There are some challenges ahead of us but I’m confident we’ll get this right. Where the regulations are impractical or unclear we will continue to make adjustments,’’ Mr O’Connor said.