Dairy farming and livestock

The land is one of your farms most valuable assets. Managing it productively and sustainably is key to retaining and improving its long-term value.

By taking steps to future proof the Bay’s unique farming landscape and waterways, you can help to ensure our land remains productive for generations to come.

Best practice farm management

Stock carcass disposal

Despite the highest standards of animal care, occasional losses are unavoidable when it comes to farming.

Intensive winter grazing

Intensive winter grazing is a farming practice where livestock are grazed on paddocks planted with forage crops

Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser cap

The use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers on land is linked to lowered water quality in some of our rivers, streams, and groundwater.

Biodiversity

The Bay of Plenty still has about 66 percent of its original indigenous forest and scrub cover, but other ecosystem types do not fare as well.

Erosion control

Many properties in the region are steep and hilly. While our soils are versatile and provide a good basis for farm production, they are vulnerable to erosion. Erosion can reduce the potential productivity of the land and contributes large amounts of sediment to waterways and estuaries, ultimately lowering water and soil quality.

Contaminated land

Across the region, thousands of sites have been identified as having the potential to be contaminated, or have been contaminated, from hazardous substances.

Farm planning and consents

Do I need a resource consent? Activities that don’t need a resource consent are classified as permitted activities in one of ou...

Lake Rotorua Nutrient Management Plan and OverseerFM A Nutrient Management Plan outlines how a farm can meet its nitrogen discharge allocation while i...

Prevention and compliance Bay of Plenty Regional Council has a responsibility under the Resource Management Act to control ...

On-farm tree planting financial calculator While natural factors, such as slope, geology, and climate, influence the amount of contaminants ...

Farming and freshwater

Freshwater biodiversity

Our rivers, lakes and wetlands are home to various endemic plants, fish, birds and other wildlife that rely on healthy freshwater for at least part of their lifecycle.

Protecting our wetlands

Wetlands are important ecosystems that filter pollutants, trap sediment and improve water quality.

Dry weather water management

If you use water, it’s important to know your responsibilities during a dry weather event.