Federated Farmers says some farming businesses in Taupo are on the edge of tipping over.
Ruapehu president Lyn Neeson says restrictions imposed by Waikato Regional Council are putting those farming in the Lake Taupo catchment in a difficult situation.
Livestock farming is a controlled activity in the area.
As a result, each farm has a nitrogen discharge cap to control the amount of nitrogen leaching into the lake catchment, mostly in the form of effluent and fertilister run-off.
Lyn Neeson says a lot of farms are not viable with the nitrogen they have been allocated and most won't be able to afford to buy any extra nitrogen either under the council's trading system.
