Submission

 Submission on proposed changes to the Low Slope Map incorporated into the Resource Management (Stock Exclusion) Regulations 2020

Beef cattle and deer that were not intensively grazed are excluded from waterways on land identified on “the low slope map” under the stock exclusion regulations.  The original method for identifying land in the low slope map was to take an average slope of an entire land parcel and, if it was less than 10 degrees, identify it as a low slope land.  The Government has proposed to change this method to be more granular, only identify slopes of less than 5 degrees and exclude all land above 500m or covered in tall tussock/depleted grassland.

Federated Farmers’ response is that, while these changes address some concerns, they still do not go far enough.  Further, it would be impossible to establish a method of accurately identifying the land where the cost of exclusion of beef cattle and deer from waterways is proportional to the environmental benefit to be gained.  Put simply, a “one size fits all” approach is simply not workable.

Instead, Federated Farmers has put forward that stock exclusion should be handled by regional councils to allow for regional variation.  This will also allow regional councils to work with local farmers to establish where and how stock are then excluded from waterways, rather than having an unworkable regulation at national level that cannot address regional variation.