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A Monitoring and Reporting Strategy for the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord

1 Summary

2 Introduction

3 This Project

4 Measuring Progress Towards Meeting the Components of the Accord

5 Measuring the Environmental Outcomes of Implementing the Accord

6 Establishing the Tier 2 Catchments

7 Reporting

8 A Proposed Monitoring and Reporting Strategy

9 Suggestions for Future Best Practice

10 Recommendations

11 Acknowledgements

12 References

Appendix 1: The Project Brief

Appendix 2: Summary of Responses from Regional Authorities

Appendix 3: The Best Practice Dairy Catchments

Appendix 4: Base Information from a Proposed Tier 2 Catchment

10 Recommendations

Recommendation 1: That the formal definition of an Accord Stream be reviewed in light of the experiences gained in implementing the Accord in 2007.

Recommendation 2: The definition of stock exclusion via high banks be 'where a cattle beast would not normally walk down of its own accord'.

Recommendation 3: The question relating to stock exclusion by fencing be separated into two parts as follows:

(i) Over what lengths of Accord streams do you have permanent fencing to exclude stock?

(ii) Over what lengths of Accord streams do natural barriers exclude stock access?

Recommendation 4: A question be added to ask farmers 'over those sections of stream where stock are permanently excluded what length has been retired and planted in riparian species?'

Recommendation 5: In terms of the annual farm assessment questionnaire a 'regular crossing' be defined as:

(i) where stock cross a permanently flowing stream at least twice a week during the milking season or

(ii) where stock cross a permanently flowing stream at least 50 times in any given year.

Recommendation 6: Reporting against the Accord target that all farmers meet their resource consent requirements 100 percent of the time be on the basis of regional authorities reporting annually the following information to the Ministry for the Environment.

Recommendation 7: The questions to be asked about the nutrient budgeting target be phrased as follows:

(i) Do you have a nutrient budget for your dairy farm?

(ii) If so, who prepared that nutrient budget?

(iii) Do you use the nutrient budget to actively manage nutrient levels and fertiliser inputs on your dairy farm?

Recommendation 8: In relation to the fencing out of significant wetlands and protection of their natural water regimes:

(i) The standard of fencing necessary be determined on a case by case basis by the regional authority.

(ii) The level of protection of the natural water regime that is necessary to protect the wetland also be determined on a case by case basis by the regional authority.

(iii) Monitoring and reporting of implementation be carried out by regional authorities and forwarded annually to the Ministry for the Environment.

Recommendation 9: In the existing four best practice dairy catchments the existing information be assessed for its ability to 'explain' the benefits of implementing the Accord and, subject to ongoing funding, agree a programme to attempt to isolate the benefits of implementing theAccord from the other interventions already being implemented to improve dairy practice.

Recommendation 10: The following catchments make up the 'Tier 2' catchments in which the benefits of implementing the Accord will be monitored in depth:

(i) A selected catchment in the Northland region.

(ii) The Taharua catchment in the Rangitikei Catchment in western Hawke's Bay.

(iii) The Mangapapa Catchment near Woodville in the Manawatu Catchment.

(iv) The Enaki Catchment, a tributary of the Mangaterere River in the Wairarapa.

(v) The Motupipi Catchment in Golden Bay.

(vi) The Rai River (or alternatively the Tuamarina River) in Marlborough (but only to monitor the impacts of improving stream crossings).

(vii) The Rhodes Stream catchment in South Canterbury.

(viii) The Washpool catchment, a tributary of the Pomahaka River in southwest Otago.

Recommendation 11: In each of the above catchments:

(i) Baseline information about dairying land use be collected by Fonterra.

(ii) Accurate information about progress towards Accord targets be collated by Fonterra.

(iii) Existing environmental information, such as that on flows, water quality and aquatic ecology, be collated by the regional authority.

Recommendation 12: In each of the above catchments:

(i) Ongoing information about dairying land use in the catchment be collected by Fonterra.

(ii) Accurate information about progress towards Accord targets be collated annually by Fonterra.

(iii) Water quality and biological monitoring be carried out by the regional authority.

Recommendation 13: As a minimum the monitoring programme established in each catchment:

(i) Comprise at least three sites, one as a control upstream of any influence of dairying.

(ii) Water quality at each site be monitored monthly for the following parameters: suspended solids, turbidity, volatile suspended solids, conductivity, total phosphate, dissolved reactive phosphate, total nitrogen, nitrate + nitrite nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, dissolved oxygen and E. coli.

(iii) The frequency of water quality sampling be increased during summer (January to March inclusive) as this is the time that the greatest benefits from the Accord actions are likely to be recorded.

(iv) Biological monitoring of macroinvertebrates and algal biomass be undertaken in January or February.

(v) Intensive monitoring take place for one year to establish base condition, then more extensive monitoring be undertaken for two to three years after which the intensive programme be repeated. This is shown in the following table:

Table 5: Suggested in-stream monitoring regime

Recommendation 14: The detail of the monitoring programme to be carried out in each of the catchments listed in Recommendation 12 be agreed between Fonterra and the relevant regional authority, and included as an Appendix to the Regional Action Plan.

Recommendation 15: Fonterra consider how the best management practices listed in section 9 of this report be included in any future revision of the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord.