Feb 28, 2025
Attendees at the Wairarapa farm planning workshop in Masterton
"I would not have been able to complete the plan without the assistance of these workshops."
That was just one piece of feedback from a farmer after a recent farm environment planning workshop held in Wairarapa in February.
There were two sets of workshops held – in Kāpiti and Wairarapa – with two full-day workshops in each region, spread over two weeks. The workshops were led by the Ballance Farm Sustainability team and attracted 10 farmers, evenly split across both regions.
The workshops focused on freshwater farm planning and ran through a step-by-step process on how to set up and work through the online QCONZ Freshwater Farm Plan tool.
The small workshop setting allowed greater time to be able to work through what was needed and how to understand the process while working through it.
“The workshops were designed to support farmers to create their own certified farm plan in line with Greater Wellington regional council requirements,” says Peter Thomas, Ballance National Farm Sustainability Services Manager.
“During the workshops, farmers practically worked through identifying risks on farm, along with allocating actions and farm mapping utilising an online farm planning tool. All farmers who attended the workshops finished with a completed farm plan.”
The workshop was one of a series of Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ)-coordinated workshops being run around the country to make environmental planning and compliance easier. This workshop series was tailored to meet the newly announced Certified Farm Environmental Plan requirement in the Greater Wellington Regional Council area.
DINZ Environmental Stewardship Manager Luka Jansen attended the first workshop in Paraparaumu (Kāpiti ), calling the day “a good learning experience,” noting it was the first time she had used the QCONZ software.
“The day helped me better understand the challenges farmers face trying to complete a farm plan to meet Council requirements, particularly completing a farm plan on their own. I know the QCONZ designers are making regular improvements to make the platform more user-friendly.
“I’m really proud of the farmers that turned up and gave it a go. They will now be in a better position than if they didn't attend. And working within a group meant we could help each other and ask the experts questions on how to use the program, which helped a lot.”
The Ballance Farm Sustainability team has other proposed workshops coming up over the next three months in Southland (Balfour, Winton and Otautau), as well as potential locations in the Manawatu.
In addition, DINZ is supporting local groups to develop workshops in other areas of farm planning - such as animal health and welfare - that meet local needs around the country. Please reach out to ifp@deernz.org if you’re interested in direct support for your region. More information can be found here >>
