Winter Grazing Online Tools - FAQ

The tools have been developed in response to farmers’ concerns around the accessibility and interpretation of what’s needed on-farm. The tools will support farmers planning for next season’s cultivation and winter grazing requirements.

Once you’ve completed the checklist, you’ll know if you can continue your winter grazing as a permitted activity (you don’t need a resource consent), or whether you’ll need to apply for a resource consent.

If you’re permitted, you’ll be prompted to register this with Environment Southland. This will help us develop an understanding of the scale of permitted activity wintering happening across Southland, which will be helpful in reporting back to the Minster for the Environment.

Environment Southland is attempting to develop a more complete picture of the amount of winter grazing happening in the region and information registered around this will be added to the database - but only with the permission of the person entering it.

Information registered with council about permitted intensive winter grazing is stored on file for statistical purposes and can be used as part of a total figure when reporting back to Ministers on the area of winter grazing in the region.

Information uploaded or generated by a user on the mapping application is not saved or held by Environment Southland.

We are committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our website. This privacy notice applies to personal information collected through our website and any of its sub-sites. For more information on our policies on this please see our Terms of Use page.

These online tools are free to use and are provided to guide and assist farmers and landowners.

You can get help or advice by talking to one of our consents team. Give us a call on 0800 76 88 45 or email service@es.govt.nz. We're happy to help.

The map pulls in data from a range of areas. It allows farmers to see the features on their farm and on nearby farms, such as wetlands, rivers, drains and flood banks. Physiographic and topoclimate data is also used. Information is sourced from various local and central Government databases, including LINZ and the Ministry for the Environment.

Currently the map is using the Ministry’s slope map – but we understand changes are being made to this and we will update this information when it becomes available.

Both the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan and the new National Environmental Standard for Freshwater have a list of permitted activity criteria for intensive winter grazing. You can find out if you need a resource consent here - and information about what to do if you need a consent.

Before you start, we suggest you have details on the location of the farm where your wintering will take place, the number of hectares of crop you’ll be establishing and grazing, animal numbers, your farm environmental management plan and nutrient budget. You’ll also need to have or can answer questions about an Assessment of Environmental Effects, and be able to answer questions about how your activity meets the policy framework in the proposed plan and national standards.

Our consents team is available to chat through all these aspects of your application before you submit it. Make a time to get some advice by calling 0800 76 88 45 or email service@es.govt.nz.

A consent officer will be assigned to process your application and will be in touch. If you have questions about your application, give us a call on 0800 76 88 45. More information about the consents process can be found here.