Nutrient management

A critical source area is anywhere on a farm that is at risk of losing contaminants.

They are often called “hotspots” for contaminant loss. The four main contaminants that affect water quality are bacteria, sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen.

There are a number of factors that create a critical source area; slope, soil, stock, moisture and land use. All of these increase pressure on to land, which increases the risk of losing contaminants.

Once you’ve identified the critical source areas, you can find the best mitigations for your farm. A Farm Environment Plan can help you identify these risks and prioritise actions to reduce the risk.

This guide should help you identify where you might find areas of risk around your farm and how you might mitigate these areas.

Critical Source Areas (CSA) - Identifying risks on farm
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Nutrient management plans and worksheets

Nutrient management plan guidelines

Under Rule 3.9.4.11 of the Waikato Regional Plan, fertiliser application is a permitted activity, subject to the conditions outlined there. One of the conditions is that a nutrient management plan must be used to plan fertiliser application where nitrogen fertiliser is applied at rates greater than 60 kg N/ha per year.

A documented nutrient management plan (NMP) is essential for compliance with these rules.

Managing farm nutrients - handy worksheets

Managing nutrients carefully can save you money and improve farm decision-making. Together with soil test results, you can use a nutrient budget to assess farm fertiliser requirements, targeting nutrients where you most need them. Use these handy worksheets to help plan your nutrient budgets.

Rules and compliance

Visit the Waikato Regional Plan for the rules and regulations for nitrogen loading, fertiliser application, and the guidance notes for the use of fertiliser.

Farmer’s guide to environmental rules in the Waikato region

The purpose of this guide is to provide, in plain language as much as possible, up-to-date information about the rules for the activities that farmers commonly undertake, and whether these activities are permitted or need a resource consent.

It is important to remember that even activities that are permitted without consent will require certain conditions to be met. It also gives you a reference number for each rule so you can easily look up the full wording of the rules.