Organic farming typically has a lower environmental impact.
Yet Waikato Regional Council’s proposed plan change 1 penalises organic farmers.
Why?
Dairy companies pay a premium for organic milk. Fonterra currently pays its organic suppliers $8.50/kg milk solids, a $2-2.25-/kg MS premium above its conventional pay-out.
Under plan change 1 organic dairy farmers are penalised by the rules around land use intensification and nitrogen reference points.
Because they have a very low nitrogen reference point due to their farming methods, they find that the capital value of their land has dropped by approximately 40%, as any prospective buyer is unable to do anything on that land that may raise the nitrogen reference point.
Yet the normal pastoral dairy farmers that in some cases have very high nitrogen reference points due to their farming methods will have that high emissions level grandfathered under plan change 1.
So the ones currently doing the most to reduce emissions and help the environment are penalised and the ones that are currently having the greatest impact on the environment through their high levels of nitrogen leaching are rewarded by having a grand-parented right carry on emitting these high levels.
The above facts are surely going to make it much easier for the Waikato River Authority to get an angel investor to make a $100 million investment in buying 12 to 18 dairy farms in the Waipa catchment and then turn them into organic farms. “Yeah Right.”
Spend a $100 million on dairy farms, change them to organic dairy farms, reduce their capital value by approximately 40%, great investment idea. “Yeah Right.”
Andy Loader
Co-Chairman P.L.U.G.