Intensive winter grazing 2024

Well-planned winter grazing of stock helps reduce impacts on waterways and animal health. Farmers in Southland have made great progress with winter grazing actions and we want that to continue.

You may need consent for the 2025 season if your intensive winter grazing is:

on an area of land larger than 50 ha or 10% of the farm area, and/or
on land with a slope of 10 degrees or more and/or
changing for the 2025 season

Click here to access the checklist to see if you need a resource consent for winter grazing in 2025.

Also check out this factsheet on intensive winter grazing in Southland.

For more helpful wintering resources and winter grazing information, videos and articles, visit the DairyNZ website.

View resources

Do I need to have used the same paddock for IWG previously?

You need to have used land on the farm for intensive winter grazing from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2019. It does not have to be the same paddock. You must not have increased the size of the area used for intensive winter grazing in any one winter between 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2019.

If you are unsure about the rules, please check with us.

The rules for winter grazing are changing for the 2025 season. The proposed Southland Water and Land Plan has been adopted by Environment Southland councillors. While central government has indicated plans to repeal national winter grazing rules, rules within the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan may still apply to you.

We encourage you to look at your grazing activities and the criteria you'd need to meet if you were to continue without a resource consent.

Now is a great time to contact our consents or land sustainability team to discuss your grazing plans - before starting on any consent application. Give us a call on 0800 76 88 45 or email esconsents@es.govt.nz.

Resource consent

Apply for a resource consent

You can apply for a resource consent if you do not meet all of the criteria in the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan and the National Environmental Standard for Freshwater (NES-F).

This pathway applies for winter grazing activities that are not a permitted activity, and are not a deemed permitted activity;
You will need to demonstrate, by describing good management practices, that adverse effects on the environment are minimised and mitigated as far as possible;
You will need to complete the online consent form and Environment Southland will be to assess the application.
Note: to apply for a resource consent online you will need to be a registered user with My Environment Southland. Not signed up with us? Click the ‘Log In’ button at the top of this page, and click ‘Sign up here’.

Once logged in, you will be able to save your application form and come back to complete it later.

Before starting, we recommend having this information to hand.

Applicant details
Site details
Slope details of land being grazed
Total hectares previously grazed between 1 July 2014 - 30 June 2019
Details of crop and stock types to be grazed
Assessment of environmental effects (good management practices or mitigation options used on farm)
Farm environmental management plan details
Supporting documents. These can be uploaded within your application and may include maps, photos and plans
Click here to access Environment Southland's Cultivation and Intensive Winter Grazing mapping tool

Please note - if you are granted a resource consent, this will likely be for a 5-year term.

You can apply for a resource consent by clicking here, or you can download a pdf version of the form to complete here.

We encourage you to look at your grazing activities and the criteria you'd need to meet if you were to continue without a resource consent. Now is a great time to contact our consents or land sustainability team to discuss your grazing plans - before starting on any consent application. Give us a call on 0800 76 88 45 or email esconsents@es.govt.nz.

Mapping tool

The Cultivation and Intensive Winter Grazing mapping tool can help you understand more about the risks on your farm. The tool can help with planning for winter grazing, and for preparing to apply for consent.

The tool pulls in data from a range of areas into a map. You'll be able to see the features on your farm including waterways, stop banks, wetlands, drains and make good decisions around paddock selection, cultivation method and strategic grazing.