What we do

Our key areas of focus:

Our Strategic Plan (2015-2017) identifies five priorities that will guide the Collective’s work programme:

1. Influencing decision makers – working with others to get good outcomes for farmers and the wider community
2. Lake catchment knowledge – accessing and using existing social, economic and scientific knowledge to inform farmers and others
3. Promoting good practice – identifying and promoting good nitrogen and phosperous management practice
4. Research – identifying new research to inform Lake Catchment solutions
5. Marketing & sponsorship – engaging support from the wider community

You can read more about our Strategic Plan here

Our successes

• Initiating the Sustainable Farming Fund Project “Meeting nutrient loss targets on dairy farms” with $450,000 from MPI, BOPRC, Ballance and DairyNZ – see link to a recent report.
• Persuaded BOPRC to adopt a collaborative policy path through the Stakeholder Advisory Group. We have five Collective members on this forum. You can find more information about StAG here
• Signed the Oturoa Agreement where we agreed with BOPRC, Federated Farmers and LWQS to extend the Regional Policy Statement nitrogen reduction deadline from 2022 to 2032. We also have a science rep on the Lakes Water Quality Technical Advisory Group
• Getting BOPRC to reduce mandatory farmer nitrogen reductions from 270 to 140 tonnes, with the proposed incentives fund responsible for 100 tonnes and a gorse project 30 tonnes.