About the Extension Services programme
Extension Services supports the Fit for a Better World roadmap, which aims to improve on-farm performance and sustainability, and to restore New Zealand's freshwater environments to a healthy state within a generation.
Read more about the Fit for a Better World roadmap
Why it's important to support catchment groups
Catchment groups provide a valuable platform to promote good on-farm practices and sustainable land management, and encourage positive environmental outcomes. They:
- enable farmers to share knowledge and learn from each other
- showcase innovation and success
- enable farmers to access expertise, up-to-date research and tools
- improve opportunities that support on-farm decision-making
- provide farmers with information about other funding opportunities that could boost their projects and understand new regulations.
What the programme is delivering
Our investment in catchment groups is supporting more than 5,000 farmers. The groups are assisting farmers to:
- develop Farm Environment Plans (FEPs) to understand environmental challenges and opportunities on their property
- produce nutrient budgets
- calculate their agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
- understand changing environmental regulations
- monitor macroinvertebrates and stream health
- improve the health of their soils
- undertake riparian plantings and wetland restoration
- host workshops on wellbeing initiatives and understanding community values
- conduct pilot studies on fodder crop cultivation for winter grazing.
Catchment groups funded through Extension Services
Group or organisation | Region | Funding |
---|---|---|
NZ Landcare Trust | National | $3,000,000 |
Quorum Sense | National | $1,720,000 |
Hauraki P3 Trust | Waikato | $681,500 |
King Country River Care | Waikato | $931,750 |
Taranaki Catchment Communities | Taranaki | $1,300,000 |
Rangitīkei Rivers Catchment Collective | Manawatū | $910,000 |
Manawatū Rivers Catchment Collective | Manawatū | $120,000 |
Wairarapa Pūkaha to Kawakawa Alliance | Wairarapa | $1,100,000 |
Avon Valley Catchment Group | Marlborough | $445,000 |
Karamea Catchment Group | West Coast | $300,000 |
Hurunui District Landcare Group | Canterbury | $2,893,500 |
Ellesmere Sustainable Agriculture | Canterbury | $550,000 |
Mid Canterbury Catchment Collective | Canterbury | $950,000* |
Otago Catchment Communities | Otago | $545,000 |
Thriving Southland | Southland | $5,907,204 |
*Essential Freshwater Fund, Ministry for the Environment. |
Milestone for catchment group support: case study [PDF, 1.3 MB]