Otto Dogterom worries he’ll barely be able to farm his land if the council goes ahead with over-the-top new land protection rules.
The North Otago Federated Farmers president says Waitaki District Council’s (WDC) draft district plan has the potential to leave farmers needing multiple consents just to get on with their everyday work.
“It’s hard enough for many farmers to make a living right now without the council proposing this barrage of new restrictions, which could just choke landowners with more cost, complexity and red tape.
“These rules could also have a negative impact on the value of our properties, so it’s fair to say that farmers are really worried.”
WDC’s draft plan outlines new or extended areas of land that would have environment protections placed on them, restricting activities such as intensive farming and forestry.
These property zones, known as ‘overlays’, include areas considered as being of outstanding natural features (ONF) and outstanding natural landscapes (ONLs).
Many local farmers have taken issue with the overlays on their land from day one of the district plan review, Dogterom says.
“The sheer breadth of what these rules cover is total overkill. Farmers feel like the council are completely overreaching.”
He says, under an initial draft of the plan, about 200ha out his 450ha farm was deemed an ONF area.
He pushed back on the council, only to see their next version of the draft plan had 425ha out of the 450ha as an ONF.
“That means only 25ha of my farm isn’t subject to ONF restrictions, which is absolutely ridiculous,” he says.
“These rules are intended to protect areas of true national significance like The Remarkables, Tongariro Plateau or Te Mata Peak, but my farm and others caught up in this plan are what you would call typical Otago countryside.”
With more than 10 different consents already applying to his farm, he’s concerned more conditions and restrictions could be applied when it comes time to renew them – if he gets permission at all.
“One example is that I shifted an existing small shed from one part of the farm to another part that, unknown to me, was already subject to an ONF.
“When the council found out, they said I’d have to get a resource consent for it or remove it entirely.
“I offered to paint it green, so it’d be barely visible in the ‘natural landscape’, but that wasn’t good enough.
“I ended up having to hire a consultant to help me get a consent, but it cost me over $15,000.
“That was the moment the penny dropped for me just how much cost and hassle these kinds of overlays can create for the most basic farming activities.”
Dogterom says the capital value of local farms could also take a serious hit if these kinds of rules go ahead.
“The value of my two farms alone could fall by as much as $4 million and other farmers will be in the exact same boat.”
Local farmers thought they’d won a breakthrough last year when council voted to remove the ONL classification from any land modified for agricultural use.
But in June, council staff – on the advice of a consultant landscape architect – said this was contrary to Resource Management Act legislation and should be revoked.
“We asked the council, ‘Who should be making these decisions?” Dogterom says.
“Should it be council staff and outside ‘experts’, or the representatives our community have elected to weigh up all the factors and priorities?”
The good news for farmers is WDC appears to have heard their concerns, deciding to hit pause on its draft plan and seek more feedback from landowners.
“Federated Farmers has made a hell of a racket calling for the council to delay notifying its long-term plan,” Dogterom says.
“We seem to have got the result too. The council have decided to go back to affected landowners and try to come to a compromise.
“Farmers have no issue with trying to restore our natural environment or improve visual landscapes, but there needs to be some practicality and balance.
“We need to make sure we don’t undermine economic activity, food production, local employment, or the rights of landowners in the process.
“That balance has been completely missing in WDC’s approach to date.”
Dogterom says the situation shows why the Government’s promises to improve resource management legislation can’t happen soon enough.
Federated Farmers, New Zealand’s leading independent rural advocacy organisation, has established a news and insights partnership with AgriHQ, the country’s leading rural publisher, to give the farmers of New Zealand a more informed, united and stronger voice. Federated Farmers news and commentary appears each week in its own section of the Farmers Weekly print edition and online.
