FARM ENVIRONMENT PLANS

Do you want or need to have an FEP but don’t know where to start?

Perhaps you are required to have a farm environment plan (FEP) by your local regional council? Perhaps you’ve heard having one is useful, but you don’t know where to start?

The farm environment plan is an environmental risk management tool. It helps farmers and landowners recognise on-farm environmental risks, and then sets out a programme of action to manage those risks.

There are large regional differences with some regions requiring a farm environment plan while others do not. Also, there are many different names for what, are in essence similar things: including Whole Farm Plan, Farm Environment Plans, Sustainable Milk Plan, Land and Environment Plan. Currently, Farm Environment Plans or FEPs seems to be the most used term. However, because FEPs mean different things to different people in different regions, they are not all created equal. It can be confusing!

While our Regional Coordinators at the NZ Landcare Trust do not offer a farm environment planning service, we are here to help landowners – be it large farmers or small farms – better understand and feel more confident about why farm environment planning is useful.

The NZ Landcare Trust is not promoting one FEP approach to farmers. The design of your FEP is totally dependent on the risk profile of your farm and the sub-catchment you are in.

For over a decade now, NZ Landcare Trust has supported the adoption of Whole Farm Plans. We have seen these as a valuable business tool offering comprehensive information about on-farm resources and assisting landowners in developing profitable and sustainable farm management systems that recognise both environmental and business benefits. You can find our Whole Farm Plan fact sheet in the “related PDFs” section at the bottom of this page.

So, where to from here? FEP webinar videos are here!

We hosted a series of farm environment plan webinars (and a series especially for Lifestylers or small block holders) in conjunction with Rural Women NZ. These are shorter webinars packed full of information. Click on the link below to watch one in your region.

Wetlands and your Farm Environment Plan

We have also recorded a series of webinars outlining how to include wetlands in your Farm Environment Plan. Renowned wetlands expert and NZ Landcare Trust Regional Coordinator Nathan Burkepile, and our team of regional and catchment coordinators explore: different types of wetlands, how to successfully restore, create and enhance wetland environments; how to improve water quality on your farms; integrating wetlands in Farm Environment Plans; and region-specific challenges and solutions. Watch the series.