Dairying and Clean Streams Accord

The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord is an agreement signed in 2003 in New Zealand between Fonterra, Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and regional councils. The Accord was prompted by the high profile "dirty dairying" campaign by Fish and Game New Zealand which highlighted water pollution of lakes, rivers and streams due to the intensification of dairy farming in parts of New Zealand.

The stated purpose of the accord is to provide "a statement of intent and framework for actions to promote sustainable dairy farming in New Zealand. It focuses on reducing the impacts of dairying on the quality of New Zealand streams, rivers, lakes, ground water and wetlands." The goal is to ensure that water is suitable for fish, drinking by stock and swimming (in designated areas).

Politically the accord was intended to prevent further regulation of the dairy industry following Fish and Game New Zealand’s dirty dairying campaign begun in 2003.

The performance targets are:

Progress reports on achieving the performance targets are prepared annually. The 2006-2007 report, released in February 2008, notes 83% compliance for the target of excluding cattle from waterways, 97% for bridging waterways, 93% for correct dairy farm effluent treatment and a 64-97% for preventing nutrient losses. The integrity of this data was later questioned when a 2012 independent report commissioned by MAF indicated that while Fonterra’s survey of farmers suggests that nationally 84% of properties have stock excluded from waterways, an independent audit by the Ministry of Primary idustries revealed a position that only 42% of farms nationally had stock exclusion. A scientist at the University of Waikato described the 2006/2007 report as self-congratulatory and accused the Government of a lack of leadership.

In December 2002, the farming lobby group, Federated Farmers, initially opposed the accord since they considered that Fonterra was going beyond their brief and they had not consulted farmers. However, since then, the Dairy and Clean Stream Accord has become "the cornerstone of dairying's defences against accusations it's doing nothing to protect the environment".

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