Nitrogen sourcing and trading in the Lake Taupo catchment

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  5. Nitrogen sourcing and trading in the Lake Taupo catchment
  • Opportunities for permitted and consented sites to alter on site activites
  • Glossary of terms
  • Introduction
  • Opportunities for forestry/undeveloped land
  • Opportunities for low leaching farmed land
  • Buying or selling nitrogen
  • Leasing nitrogen: increasing or decreasing your nitrogen discharge
  • Multiple property operation considerations and contact details:

Opportunities for permitted and consented sites to alter on site activites

Glossary of terms

There are some  terms you may not be familiar with. Below is a list of definitions to assist you to understand this guide.

Benchmarking The processing of your farm data through OverseerTM to establish a Nitrogen Discharge Allowance.
Farming activities The grazing of animals or the growing of produce, including crops, market
gardens and orchard produce but not including planted production forest and
ancillary grazing of animals or cropping.
Hectare An area of land sized 100m by 100m, or 10,000m².
NDA Nitrogen Discharge Allowance – determined (in kg/ha/yr) for your farm based on
your year of highest leaching during the benchmarking period of July 2001-June
2005.
NMP Nitrogen Management Plan – a plan that is required to continue farming which
details how your farming practices meet your property’s NDA. This can be the
data and management practices of your highest leaching year if you want to
continue your existing operations or it can be a new set of data which alters your
onsite farming practices but does not exceed your NDA.
Non-farming activities Use of land for conservation, forestry, erosion rehabilitation, domestic gardening.
Overseer The scientific program prepared by AgResearch, Fert Research and the Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) through which your farm information is
processed to calculate a nitrogen discharge allowance for your property
Resource consent A report and consent with a list of conditions which must be met in order to
discharge nitrogen in the Taupo catchment.
Permitted Activities  Activities which do not require a resource consent.
TAND A Total Annual Nitrogen Discharge Allowance – the maximum total in kg/yr for
your property.

 

Introduction

This guide explains the steps for getting consent for land use activities that leach nitrogen above the permitted or authorised discharge levels including:

  • permitted activity properties (farmed/not farmed) wanting to increase the nitrogen leaching from the property for:
      • extra houses
      • extra stock
      • crops
      • fertiliser use
  • consented (benchmarked) farms wanting to change the nitrogen leached from the property by:
    • selling nitrogen
    • buying nitrogen
    • leasing out surplus nitrogen
    • leasing extra nitrogen.

Opportunities for forestry/undeveloped land

If your site was not farmed between 2001-2005 and you want to start farming or install wastewater systems (which will result in extra nitrogen leaching) then you may be able to get nitrogen (no more than 2kg/ha) from one of two restricted nitrogen pools through a consent process:

  • Ngati Tuwharetoa owned land – 11,000kg of nitrogen
  • non Ngati Tuwharetoa owned land – 3,000kg of nitrogen.

Process:
You will need to make an application specifying how you intend to use the proposed additional nitrogen. If you are utilising it for farming purposes, then you will need to get a nitrogen management plan prepared in Overseer.

Opportunities for flow leaching farmed land

If your property was farmed during 2001-2005 but you don’t have any data or you farmed below the permitted activity stocking rate as shown in the “Guide to farming in the Lake Taupō catchment” and you want to expand your farming operations beyond the permitted activity levels then you will need to find more nitrogen from a consented farmer in the catchment.

Process:

  • find and buy nitrogen from a consented farmer and agree on:
      • price
      • quantity
      • date of transfer (we suggest it might be best to reflect these terms in a legal agreement)
      • prepare a NMP that shows how you will operate under your adjusted cap (the seller will need to
        • do this for their farm too)

    • apply (you and the seller) for consent to formalise the trade of nitrogen – make sure you supply an electronic copy of your new NMP (prepared in Overseer).

Note: permitted activity properties cannot sell any of the default nitrogen (8kg N/ha) to other parties through a consent process.

Buying or selling nitrogen

If you farm under a resource consent and you want to change your existing farming practices which will increase your TAND OR you want to sell your excess nitrogen then you will need to find a consented farmer to buy your excess nitrogen or sell you additional nitrogen. Alternatively, if you are selling nitrogen the Lake Taupō Protection Trust may be interested in purchasing this from you.

To do this, you will need to make an application specifying how you intend to operate under your revised nitrogen cap.

Process:

  • find and buy or sell nitrogen from/to a consented farmer (or to the Lake Taupō Protection Trust) and agree on:
      • price
      • quantity
      • date of transfer (we suggest it might be best to reflect these terms in a legal agreement)
      • prepare a NMP that shows how you will operate under your new cap (the seller will need to do
        • this for their farm too)

    • apply (both parties) for consent to formalise the trade of nitrogen - make sure you supply an electronic copy of your new NMP (prepared in Overseer).

Leasing nitrogen: increasing or decreasing your nitrogen discharge

If you want to lease additional nitrogen and you farm under consent or operate under either of the Permitted Activity Rules OR you farm under consent and want to lease out excess nitrogen to another farming operation then you will need to find someone to lease nitrogen from/to.

Process:

  • find another farmer to lease nitrogen from OR someone who will lease your excess nitrogen and agree on:
      • price
      • quantity
      • length of lease with a start and end date (we suggest it might be best to reflect these terms in a
        • legal agreement)

      • prepare a NMP that shows how you will operate under your new cap (the seller will need to do
        • this for their ffarm too)

    • apply (both parties) for consent to formalise the lease of nitrogen and detail the terms of the
      • agreement in the application – make sure you supply an electronic copy of your new NMP (prepared in Overseer).

Multiple property operation considerations and contact details:

Where a farming operation covers more than one property, with different owners or benchmarked Nitrogen discharge levels, it may be that a single consent for the one farming operation is appropriate. However, if the properties are managed separately (for example, different accounts/farming practices), or are under different ownership with leases in place, it may be more appropriate to have separate consents.

For those involved with farming operations covering more then one property, we suggest you contact Waikato Regional Council to discuss which process would suit you best. 

Contact us

If you have any queries or help:

Waikato Regional Council’s Taupō office
Location: Corner of Titiraupenga and Paora Hapi Streets
Phone: 07 378 6539
Fax: 07 378 9049

The Lake Taupō Protection Trust
Location: 8 Beale Street, Hamilton, PO Box 4177
Hamilton East, Hamilton
Phone: 07 839 0991

You can also download a pdf of this information:

Nitrogen sourcing and trading in the Lake Taupō catchment (775 kb)