Outline of Revised Definitions and Clauses

10th January 2018 Director, Planning Frameworks Department of Planning and Environment GPO Box 39 Sydney NSW 2001

Submission: Planning guidelines for intensive livestock agriculture development

Dear Director,

PROOF – Pasture Raised On Open Fields is a national certification program for pasture based livestock farming. Our membership includes farms that have been accredited under our Certification Trademark as well as general members. PROOF represents almost 500 producer farming livestock in pasture based environments.

Trying to understand the state planning policy and apply it to their farming operations has presented many problems in the past for our members, the majority of which are caused by inconsistencies and the differing interpretations applied at local council level.

The new SEPP falls short of providing clarity to the same issues that have confronted our members for some time now. The key concerns are:

• The definitions of intensive and extensive agriculture • The lack of recognition of alternative farming systems that do not confine and concentrate animals to small areas or sheds • The need for development consent for pigs and poultry farmers on small land holdings • The perceived inequity of classifying small operations of pasture based farming systems with large, heavily stocked and confined operations.

We now discuss these issues as they relate to the new SEPP in more detail. 1. Attachment E – Outline of revised definitions and clauses It is our concern that the proposed definitions for Intensive and Extensive agriculture, as set out in Attachment E, will lead to confusion and inaccurate interpretation particularly by small scale, pasture based farmers.

Definitions of Intensive and Extensive Livestock Agriculture

It is proposed to remove the reference to the proportion of nutritional requirements that are provided by externally sourced feed from the current Intensive Livestock definition. The reason being that it has been deemed unnecessary to include the source of feed (external or internal) in order to differentiate between extensive and intensive agriculture because the definition of extensive agriculture already refers to the grazing of livestock and pasture-based dairy.

A further minor change is also proposed, to refer to ‘pig farms’ rather than ‘piggeries’. This reflects a simpler, plain English approach, acknowledging that in common usage a piggery is defined as a pig

PROOF – Pasture Raised On Open Fields | PO Box 171 Tugun QLD 4224 | P: 0756591429| www.proof.net.au farm. Importantly, it will also clarify that all types of pig farming are intensive livestock agriculture, including free range operations. 1

In the explanation for the definition of Extensive Agriculture, there is an attempt to “ensure the differences between intensive and extensive agriculture remain clear”. However, the following proposed amendments to the definition will be the cause of confusion and misinterpretation in their current format:

Intensive agriculture

Intensive livestock agriculture means the keeping or breeding, for commercial purposes, of cattle, poultry, pigs, goats, sheep, horses or other livestock and includes any of the following:

(a) dairies (restricted),

(b) feedlots,

(d) poultry farms, but does not include extensive agriculture, aquaculture or the operation of facilities for drought or similar emergency relief.

Issue

Clause (d), in particular the words “but does not include extensive agriculture”, could lead a pasture based pig or poultry farmer to believe that they should investigate the definition of Extensive Agriculture and upon reading that definition, believe that they should qualify as Extensive.

Extensive agriculture

Extensive agriculture means any of the following:

(a) the production of crops or fodder (including irrigated pasture and fodder crops) for commercial purposes, (b) the grazing of livestock for commercial purposes, where the animals eat plants growing on the land, (c) bee keeping, (d) a dairy (pasture-based), where the animals eat plants growing on the land, (e) supplementary and emergency feeding, and temporary penning or housing of animals for weaning, dipping or related purposes, that is incidental to the grazing of livestock or a dairy (pasture-based). Issue

Clause (b), “the grazing of livestock for commercial purposes, where the animals eat plants growing on the land”, would lead a pasture based pig or poultry producer to believe that their operation would qualify as Extensive.

Comment

We believe that the proposed definitions for Intensive and Extensive agriculture, as set out in Attachment E, will lead to confusion and inaccurate interpretation. Upon reading the definitions, a farmer could easily believe that they fitted into the Extensive classification because they graze their pigs or chickens for commercial purposes where the animals eat plants growing on the land. For

1Explanation of Intended Effect Part 3 – page 15

PROOF – Pasture Raised On Open Fields | PO Box 171 Tugun QLD 4224 | P: 0756591429| www.proof.net.au small producers that are under the proposed number thresholds and not in a sensitive area, this will not necessarily present a problem, but, larger operators may assume that they are extensive and therefore do not need development consent.

Grazing pigs and poultry do eat plants growing on the land. While pigs and poultry are monogastric and cannot rely solely on pasture as a food source like ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats) can, they do graze and pasture/plants can form an important part of their diet.

Given that it is proposed that the proportion of nutritional requirements or the source of the feed is to be removed from the Intensive definition, clarification is needed as to whether or not pasture based pig and poultry systems of production can be classified as Extensive under the new proposal. If it is the intention to clarify that all types of pig farming are intensive livestock agriculture (or poultry), including free range operations, this needs to be made much clearer than it presently is in the proposed definitions. 2. Intensive livestock agriculture – development consent requirements It is proposed that development consent will be required for commercial operations involving:

• any cattle, sheep or goat feedlot, dairy (restricted), pig farm, or egg or poultry production facility located within 500 metres of a dwelling not associated with the development or in an environmentally sensitive area.

Issues

How does a pasture based pig or poultry farm identify where their operation or facility begins?

Grazing sheep, horses or cattle for example can graze right up to a neighbour’s boundary fence with no concern about their proximity to a neighbouring residence. A large number of small producers that operate on relatively small holdings or odd shaped land parcels are going to be within 500 metres of a residence not associated with the development if, pig or poultry paddocks that are designated for grazing only are to be included.

This issue really does call for some separation of pasture based ‘free range’ farming from that of intensive feedlot style free range or housed production systems. It is very easy to establish the perimeter of facilities such sheds that house large numbers of pigs or poultry indoors, but, it would not be fair to low risk small scale operators, or the sought outcomes of the draft proposal, to impose the same rule to the boundary fences of grazing paddocks for pigs and poultry.

Further clarification is necessary to ensure small scale and low-risk operations are not unnecessarily regulated.

Comment

There is clearly a distinction in the current clause between cattle, sheep or goat feedlots and cattle, sheep and goat grazing or extensive farming systems. The same differentiation needs to be made for indoor (comparable to feedlots), feedlot style pig and poultry farms and pasture based pig and poultry farms.

Given that larger, intensive operators would require a develop application automatically because they exceed the animal number thresholds, the proposed amendments below would ensure that small commercial operators in low risk locations are not subject to inappropriate levels of regulation.

PROOF – Pasture Raised On Open Fields | PO Box 171 Tugun QLD 4224 | P: 0756591429| www.proof.net.au We propose that this clause be amended to:

• any cattle, sheep or goat feedlot, dairy (restricted), OR a pig farm, or egg or poultry production facility that has housing (static or relocatable), related infrastructure, feeding or watering facilities located within 500 metres of a dwelling not associated with the development or in an environmentally sensitive area.

Note: The grazing area for pasture based pig and poultry operations should not be included in the 500 metre zone. Only land that contains, housing, related infrastructure, feeding and watering facilities should be considered when assessing if the operation is within 500 metres of a residence not associated with the development. This would provide a fairer outcome for small operators and farmers that graze their animals extensively. Simply, land that provides only grazing, (and the emphasis must be on grazing and the ability to eat plants), should not be included to align with other livestock grazing systems and to balance the inequity between housed, densely populated systems and pastured farming that the current development consent trigger presents. An alternative would be to reduce the 500m zone for pasture based operations that do not exceed the animal number limits that would trigger development consent.

We thank you for this opportunity to comment on the Planning guidelines for intensive livestock agriculture development.

Yours sincerely,

Lee McCosker CEO PROOF

PROOF – Pasture Raised On Open Fields | PO Box 171 Tugun QLD 4224 | P: 0756591429| www.proof.net.au