Taranaki Catchment Communities receives new funding to help with good farm planning

TCC has commissioned a survey of landowners and land managers in Taranaki. Photo / Unsplash

Taranaki Catchment Communities (TCC) has received funding to help landowners, iwi and the community with good farm planning.

TCC has worked with the Taranaki rural community since 2021 to protect and enhance farming, financial and community wellbeing and ecosystem health.

The funding for the Integrated Farm Planning Accelerator fund from the Ministry for Primary Industries will enable TCC to work with landowners, iwi and the community to help them improve their ability to effectively plan for how biosecurity, animal health and welfare, freshwater management, emissions reductions, biodiversity and on-farm health and safety will be delivered within their farming operations.

They will do this through a survey. TCC has commissioned a survey of landowners and land managers in the Taranaki region to record current attitudes to different farming practices and sources of information used by farmers.

Over the next couple of weeks, TCC is sending out the survey invitation link emailed from Cinta Agri Research Ltd, an independent research company based in Hawke’s Bay.

The results will impact the development of support programmes that TCC can provide to landowners over the next two years as part of the Integrated Farm Planning project and to track progress.

The survey will take about 15 minutes and all information supplied will remain completely anonymous.

TCC project lead Paul Turner says TCC has supported landowners to set up catchment groups and facilitate learning.

“This is across water quality, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity, in addition to carrying out on-farm environmental work through the Sustainable Land Use project funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries.”

Murray Perks from Perks Farms says farmers are doing a lot of positive work towards the environment.

“This project will assist them to authenticate that work and tell a story of land stewardship that consumers can relate to and have confidence in”.

Each person who completes the survey goes in the draw to win a $1,000 Trees that Count voucher.