Intensive winter grazing

From 1 May 2023, changes apply to intensive grazing rules for resowing annual forage crop paddocks, pugging, critical source areas, and using land with a slope of more than 10 degrees. 

The Ministry for the Environment has released new technical guidance for intensive winter grazing (IWG). This assists those managing and monitoring IWG activities to further improve IWG practices in a way that is consistent with the Resource Management National Environmental Standards for Freshwater Regulations to minimise impacts on the environment.

Covering pugging, ground cover, and critical source areas, the guidance includes evidence-based recommendations for farmers on what to do to reduce the environmental impacts of IWG and to help clarify what the regulations require.

It can be used in conjunction with the IWG Module available on the Ministry for Primary Industries’ website, which provides farmers with a ‘plan, do, check, review’ framework to support good IWG practices, as well as providing an overview of regulatory requirements.

Click here to view the guidance package.