Teaching the Bachelor of Environmental Science degree at the University of Canterbury, Professor Ann Brower is shaping the future of environmental science and resource management. One of her key teaching strategies is providing students with hands-on experience in freshwater farm planning – as critical component of sustainable environmental management.

To enhance their learning, Ann recently introduced the QCONZ FWFP tool, a decision inspired by a conversation with a farm environmental consultant at the Environmental Defence Society Conference. He told her he used the QCONZ FWFP tool for freshwater farm planning and described it as easy to use and rapidly becoming the industry standard. Intrigued, Ann reached out to QCONZ to learn more and soon decided to integrate it into her curriculum.

“It worked quite well,” Ann shares. “It was a good fit because it could handle multiple logins. The students appreciated its methodical and systematic approach to identifying risk areas and managing farm environments. They genuinely enjoyed using it.”

The impact of this change extends beyond the classroom. While students initially see the tool as just another workshop exercise, their perspective shifts once they enter the workforce. “After their internships, they recognize its real-world relevance. And in job interviews, when they mention experience in farm environmental planning, employers respond with ‘Oh, yes please!’” says Ann.
Tillie King, a 4th year Bachelor of Environmental Science with Honours student at UC was positive, “I think farm planning and learning about the tools available are super important to learn as budding environmental scientists. It was brand new to me that there were these types of tools available, and I think it is important to learn about why farm planning is important and how it can be beneficial. Using these tools as teaching tools has been a great experience, and I think it provides very useful skills and knowledge to take into the workplace and beyond.”

For Justin Moss, GM of Information Technology at QCONZ, this feedback is invaluable. “We love working with University of Canterbury on this. Seeing our tool play a role in educating the next generation of environmental professionals is incredibly rewarding.” He also acknowledges the dedicated QCONZ FWFP team, whose hard work has helped shape the FWFP tool into an essential industry resource.

Waimakariri Irrigation Ltd (WIL) is one of the largest run-of-river schemes in the South Island, supplying water for irrigation to farms between the Waimakariri River and the Ashley River / Rakahuri. WIL holds a nutrient discharge consent with Environment Canterbury covering a total area of 32,000 hectares. As part of this consent, all farms within the scheme must have a Farm Environment Plan (FEP). 

With over 200 shareholders within the scheme, most of whom are large-scale farm entities, WIL faces the challenge of monitoring and maintaining a considerable number of FEPs. With regulation and reporting requirements continuing to evolve, the challenge was how to reduce the work involved in collating and sharing farmer compliance information while at the same time increasing the utility and value of the data collected. 

WIL partnered with QCONZ and used their FWFP planning tool designed to simplify compliance while maximizing the value of collected data. Initially, WIL had a few reservations about whether the system could meet their needs. 

“I was initially a bit sceptical that QCONZ could do everything they said they could, given they were cutting new ground here. But we have seen them in action, they’ve managed to erase that doubt and have been working hard on improving the system,” says Ben Howden, Environmental Manager for WIL. “We wanted a tool that was accepted by the Regional Council, was able to simplify plan preparation, and was user friendly for anyone that required access to the plan.”  

Having a shared cloud-based farm planning tool that farmers can easily use and allows WIL to access farmers’ plans and aggregate data for reporting is a big benefit, Ben says. 

David Decan is the Chief Information Officer for WIL. He had been looking for a new system to record and track farmer plan compliance because their current system needed replacing. It was old technology, and it couldn’t do many of the things they needed. “We work with Waterforce, and they introduced us to QCONZ. We didn’t know anything about QCONZ’s capabilities. We talked to them for a while and saw they were good listeners and willing to make changes we needed, so decided to go ahead with a pilot. That went well and we saw the platform continually improve based on our feedback, so we decided to roll it out with all our members. We are up to about 45 of our farms that are being brought on to use the QCONZ FWFP tool and expect to have them all using it by the end of next year.” 

  “Anything that makes our job easier and the farmer’s job easier, is a good thing,” David says. 

“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. 

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Farmers have only weeks to wait to learn the extent of a Waikato Regional Council water quality plan change on their operations.

As they wait for the final version of Plan Change One to fall out of the Environment Court process, following appeals from key primary industry players, council chair Pamela Storey and Federated Farmers Waikato president Keith Holmes are recommending the industry be prepared for change.

The Environment Court is expected to release its decision on Plan Change One before the end of March after the regional council was challenged by key primary industry players.

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There were sighs of relief when the Government paused the rollout of freshwater farm plans last September, with Ministers stating the current model was too costly and not fit-for-purpose. 

While Federated Farmers applauded that move, that’s not to say we don’t believe in the freshwater farm plan concept. 

In fact, in an era where freshwater quality is under increasing scrutiny, and the role of farmers as stewards of the land has never been more critical, they have real potential. 

Read full article here

New Zealand’s ability to provide fresh, healthy vegetables for future generations is at risk unless the Government makes growing them a permitted activity.

“Without urgent changes in resource management reform, we risk losing a significant portion of our homegrown food supply by 2030,” says Michelle Sands, Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) general manager strategy and policy.

“Our country’s food security and access to fresh, nutritious vegetables are on the line. Without immediate action, the risk of shortages and rising prices will become a harsh reality for Kiwi families.

Read full article here

The third and final farm planning workshop on 20 November at the Waikaia Rugby Clubrooms was perfectly timed given the announcement the following day that all Southland farmers would require a certified farm plan that met the Southland Water and Land Plan by mid-2026.

The three workshops provided an overview of the purpose of a farm plan and how it is developed to meet various requirements before delving into the practical details, such as how to how to set up enterprise details and explain the farm story; how to use land units mapping; how to assess risk from a certifier’s perspective; how to develop actions as part of a farm plan, and how to use the QCONZ system to build an electronic freshwater farm plan. – see full article here>>

The NZIPIM 2024 National Conference, held at Mystery Creek, Waikato, on the 19th and 20th of August, brought together industry professionals to discuss the future of New Zealand’s agricultural landscape. With the theme “Tools to Shape our Future,” the conference featured sessions on global perspectives, emerging technologies, sustainability, Māori agribusiness, and more. Attendees engaged with speakers and participated in discussions aimed at equipping them with tools for sustainable, successful businesses in the primary industry.

QCONZ was one of the exhibitor sponsors, featuring our FreshWater Farm Plan system at our trade stand. Managed by Josh, Justin, and Tash, the stand drew considerable interest, thanks to its new banners and an engaging promotional video. This exposure allowed us to engage with rural professionals and highlight how our system can support their work, particularly amid ongoing government changes.

Justin and Josh also attended the awards dinner, where they networked with key contacts, including a rural professional consultant familiar with our system. The dinner was an excellent opportunity to reconnect with Jo Finer, Caroline Jack, and Fiona Hatzilamprou from NZIPIM. We have also planned a webinar for early 2025 to further promote our FreshWater Farm Plan system to NZIPIM members.

Overall, the conference was a positive experience, reinforcing our dedication to innovative and sustainable farming practices.

Fieldays 2024 was a fantastic opportunity to present our FreshWater Farm Plan (FWFP) tool and reconnect with our clients and wider industry stakeholders. This year, our team was thrilled to be part of the Sustainability Hub, where we showcased our digital solution designed to simplify the creation of freshwater farm plans for farmers and consultants.

Our Digital Solution

Our FWFP tool is developed to assist farmers in taking care of the environment while meeting regulatory requirements, pending the Government’s final position on the freshwater quality improvement framework. The tool offers a cost-effective, step-by-step process that can be used independently by farmers or with the assistance of a farm consultant to develop comprehensive plans.

Enthusiastic Reception

The enthusiasm and interest from farmers and industry colleagues were high. Justin Moss, our General Manager of IT, delivered daily presentations on the FWFP tool and the role of smart software in evaluating risks and actions on farms. These sessions were well received and sparked meaningful discussions.

Justin remarked, “There was a wide range of technology and technological services available for farmers at Fieldays. It was great to see our FreshWater Farm Plan system recognized among these tools as being user-friendly, time-saving, and at only $199 per year, affordable.”

Justin Moss and Josh Wheeler from QCONZ took a trip to Parliament in May to meet with Hon. Andrew Hoggard to discuss Freshwater Farm Plans (FWFPs). We were excited to share our learnings from the past few years.

Recently, our team has been dedicated to creating a digital solution to streamline FWFP processes and make them more cost-effective. Through collaboration with farmers, councils, farm consultants, industry experts, and our clients, we’ve gathered valuable insights that have informed the design and development of effective digital tools for freshwater plan development.

During our meeting with Associate Minister Hoggard and his team, we discussed some of these ideas and insights. We also proposed broader opportunities to simplify the FWFP framework and further reduce costs.

We believe that by improving the FWFP system and providing farmers with clear guidance and cost-effective tools, we can showcase the excellent work done by farmers to date and establish the necessary planning to enhance and safeguard this vital natural resource for generations to come.