Positive attitude key for top performers
Dairy farmers Arjan and Tracy van der Straaten on their property at Mataura Island.
The new programme recognises dairy farmers who have proved themselves with five years of full compliance with all their consents. This recognition provides an opportunity for them to carry out a self-assessment, and to supply that to Environment Southland, rather than be inspected by a compliance officer.
However, 15% of the top performers will be randomly selected for inspection by a compliance officer to ensure the integrity of the programme.
Compliance manager Simon Mapp says while the threshold for the programme is high and a single slip-up in compliance will see somebody removed from the programme, it puts trust in those who have proven themselves to be doing the right thing.
“At the moment the top performers only account for around 5% of our dairy farmers and we know there are many others out there doing some fantastic work, so these are really the cream of the crop. We’ve set the threshold very high, initially, and we will reassess it in time,” he says.
“This is a pilot programme at this stage and we only have 50 farms who have achieved the required level to be involved, but it is a good way to acknowledge the work they put in and also to utilise our compliance resources where they most need to be.”
Meanwhile, Arjan believes the key to his success is as simple as keeping on top of everything.
“You really have to be aware of stuff, fix things straight away and just know what is happening all of the time.”
Arjan and Tracy have 119 hectares of their own land and lease a further 120 hectares, milking 300 cows. As an owner-operator with no staff, he believes it helps that he is always there on the ground and has full knowledge of every aspect of his operation. He’s aware of all the requirements of his consent conditions and keeps abreast of any changing regulatory requirements.
“I love every bit of dairy farming, but you do always have to strive to do better in every aspect of the business.
“With the new regulations coming, it will be really difficult to increase cow numbers so you have to look at other ways to grow your business.
“Most importantly you have to have a positive attitude because why else would you keep doing it?”
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