The dairy industry and Bay of Plenty Regional Council have agreed to co-operate to solve effluent non-compliance issues in the Lake Rotorua catchment.
Representatives from DairyNZ, Federated Farmers, the regional council, Fonterra and AgResearch met following farmer complaints about the way the council released information from its latest audit of dairy farms in the Rotorua area.
The audit showed half the farms had breached their discharge conditions.
Federated Farmers accused the council of changing the way it operates the rules, which it denied.
They've agreed that any serious non-compliance issues on farms still need to be urgently addressed, but they'll work together to find solutions in areas such as effluent storage and irrigation, soil conditions and new research.
The council and farmers will have a progress meeting before the end of the year.
