What will it take for freshwater policy to work?

Freshwater policy has been rewritten many times since 2010. That points to a simple reality: managing water quality is complex, and changes made to freshwater policy need to reflect that complexity.

Regulation has a role to play in water quality management. It can set expectations, provide a backstop and help keep everyone moving in the right direction. But to work well in practice, freshwater policy needs to recognise and encourage positive actions happening on the ground.

It must also be practical, cost effective, enduring and flexible enough to reflect the diversity of New Zealand farms and catchments.

Farmers need confidence that investments made today – in infrastructure, farm systems and environmental improvements – will deliver returns in the future. That matters even more in an election year, when policy uncertainty makes long-term planning harder.

Science-based and practical

Freshwater policy needs to reflect both good science and real conditions. The relationship between land use and water quality is complex and it can take time for on-farm changes to show up in water monitoring, with soil types, rainfall, groundwater and existing land use all influencing outcomes.

Targets and limits are useful tools, but they work best alongside practical judgement and an understanding of local catchments. A focus on outcomes – alongside proven actions – gives farmers flexibility while still delivering progress. Success, ultimately, is about healthier waterways and thriving communities, not just meeting a number.

Backing what works on-farm

Freshwater quality gains are made on the ground. Industry is leading the way with approximately 84% of dairy farms already operating under comprehensive dairy company Farm Environment Plans. Across the country, dairy farmers have fenced waterways, planted riparian margins and taken steps that are restoring wetlands, improving effluent systems and refining nutrient management. These actions are proven and continue to build momentum even though the pace and scale of improvements can vary among catchments.

Farmers and communities leading the way

Farmers and communities need to be part of shaping solutions, and policy works best when it supports practical improvements and recognises the work already underway.

Catchment groups and other peer networks are good examples. They bring farmers, communities and others together to focus on shared goals and coordinated progress. They recognise that improvements come from collective effort across a catchment – not just individual farms working in isolation. With the right support and accountability, these local approaches result in real, measurable gains.

There is opportunity to build on the progress already made. By focusing on stable settings, good science, practical action and farmer leadership, freshwater policy can deliver for both the environment and farm businesses.

That’s the direction DairyNZ will continue to push for – enduring, sensible, science-based policy and rules that work on farms and support farmers to keep improving.