Dairy Compliance Awards

Photo: Gold Award recipients at the Dairy Compliance Awards 2018

Hawke’s Bay’s dairy farmers who are consistently achieving full compliance with their resource consents were recognised at the Dairy Compliance Awards 2018 event last week (Friday 7 December). 

Hawke’s Bay Regional Councillor Fenton Wilson presented the certificates to the dairy farmers.  “It’s always a privilege to be at these awards and seeing the numbers grow. More than half our dairy farmers have been fully compliant for at least three years, and thirty-four for five years.  It’s a great result as it takes a lot of work to achieve. But these dairy guys get it and are working hard to be good Hawke’s Bay citizens.”

Thirty-four farms have maintained full compliance for at least five consecutive years to achieve or maintain a Gold award status. To achieve 100% compliance, farms must achieve full compliance with their consents at all inspections, including paper work. Water take consents are included as well as the farm dairy effluent discharge consent.  Any farm not achieving compliance in any one year is reset to year zero.

Another 13 farms with four years’ consecutive compliance are at the Silver tier, and 7 farms with three years’ compliance at Bronze tier.

The awards are supported by sponsors Fonterra and Farmlands which present gift vouchers to the Gold level farmers, and by Ravensdown which presents them with an ARL Farm Environmental Impact test suite.

Tony Haslett, Fonterra Hawke’s Bay regional manager, thanked the Regional Council and the sponsors for supporting the scheme. “It’s great to see an increasing number of our Hawke’s Bay dairy farmers achieving five years plus of full compliance. The New Zealand dairy industry is cooperative by nature and it is this ethos of working together from the farms, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, and Fonterra teams that all contributes to this result.  Well done to all involved.”   

Rhys Hellyer from Farmlands said the company was pleased to be a sponsor for such a positive scheme. 

Hendrik Venter from Ravensdown said “Farmers and fertiliser companies are under the spotlight regarding environmental responsibilities and Ravensdown is serious about this responsibility, and our certified advisors are ensuring the right nutrients are applied at the right rate and at the right time.  Congratulations to these people managing their farms in an environmentally responsible way.”

The award scheme developed from a goal set by the Dairy Industry Liaison Group when it was established by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in 2008.  The goal is 100% full compliance with resource consent conditions from the 80 Hawke’s Bay dairy farms that are monitored annually by the regional council.  There was 71% compliance across the board in the first year to 81% this year.  There has been a steady increase in farms qualifying for the five year achievement - from 16 farms in the first year to 34 this year.

Dairy Compliance Awards 2018 recipients are (in alphabetical order):