Nutrient loss measurement tool upgrade welcomed

Environment Canterbury today welcomed the recent upgrade to the nutrient loss measurement tool, OVERSEER®.

Chief Executive Bill Bayfield said improvements to the irrigation component of OVERSEER® would highlight the significant gains to be made from enhancements to irrigation efficiency.

“It is important to note, however, that while the improvements introduced by OVERSEER® 6.2 will change estimated nutrient loss numbers they will not change the reality with regard to actual nutrient losses,” Mr Bayfield said.

Environment Canterbury is working to help make sure decision-makers are provided with options for dealing with OVERSEER® version changes. “We are committed to working with other councils, the owners of OVERSEER® and industry in seeking solutions to these challenges,” Bill Bayfield said. A plan change later in 2015 will help address them.

“Environment Canterbury wishes to ensure that the focus is on good management practices by farmers and nutrient outputs,” Mr Bayfield said. “OVERSEER® provides a method of benchmarking against good management practices. Its strength is the way it can be used in a relative rather than an absolute way. Our challenge is to develop policy that allows for this.”

Environment Canterbury has moved to assure farmers who have made investment decisions based on previous versions of OVERSEER® that they would not be disadvantaged as a result of these changes.

“The planning framework for land use and water quality interactions is based on management of nutrient outputs rather than inputs,” Bill Bayfield said. “Landowners have maximum freedom to decide how best to manage their land to minimise nutrient losses. This approach, which is of benefit both to farmers and to water quality outcomes, will not change with a new version of the measurement tool.

“It is not Environment Canterbury’s intention to immediately require more farmers to get a consent to farm just because of an OVERSEER® upgrade,” Mr Bayfield concluded. “We will work with individual farmers, industry bodies and zone committees to focus on achieving the outcomes anticipated when the proposed Canterbury Land & Water Regional Plan was drafted.”

For more information on OVERSEER®, go to http://www.ecan.govt.nz/publications/Plans/lwrp-infosheet-farmers-overseer.pdf,www.overseer.org.nz

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