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Vegetable and maize cropping

Freshwater plan fact sheet

Gisborne District Council's Tairawhiti Resource Management Plan (TRMP) includes rules for farms with more than 1 hectare of vegetable or maize crops.

“Commercial vegetable growing”- using an area of land greater than 1 ha for producing vegetable crops for human consumption, which may be undertaken on a rotational basis, but managed as a single operation. It does not include perennial crops.

“Cropping” - using an area of land in excess of 1 hectare to grow annual crops other than commercial vegetable crops. This definition does not include crops grazed on by animals from the same property.

You can continue to crop without a resource consent, but you need to make and submit a farm environment plan to Council before 1 May 2021.

From 1 July 2021 you won't be able to cultivate or grow crops within 5 metres of the edge of most waterways. You can use you FEP to demonstrate how a smaller setback of no less than 1 metre can occur without adversely impacting the environment.

If you haven’t cropped on the land before, you will need a farm environment plan before you start, refer to the TRMP Appendix H20.

Fertilisers need to be applied as per the Fertiliser Association's Code of Practice for Nutrient Management

For commercial vegetable cropping, see Horticulture NZ Code of Practice

  • Fertiliser storage and loading sites should be away from flood susceptible areas and at least 50m from any waterway or wetland.
  • Nitrogen applications more than 200kg N/ha/year should be in split dressings of 50kg/year.
  • Soluble phosphate applications more than 100kg P/ha/year should be in split dressings.
  • Animal and vegetable manures and wastes also need to meet nutrient management standards.
  • Agrichemicals must be applied in accordance with  NZS8409: 2004 The Code of Practice for the Management of Agrichemicals

Anyone using ground and aerial based agrichemicals must be GrowSafe certified and the meet specified training requirements.
Visit Growsafe's website

Any farmers discharging greenhouse nutrient solution will need to meet the code and applications of nitrogen are limited depending on soil type.

Code of Practice for Management of Greenhouse Nutrient Discharges (2007)