The Wellington regional council says 92% of dairy farms were fully compliant with resource consents and regulations regarding effluent management in the last dairying season.
That was up from 53% in the 2007/08 season.
Serious non-compliance has dropped from about 6% to 1.6%.
Greater Wellington environmental regulation manager Alistair Cross credits the improvement to annual farm inspections by regional council staff and dairy industry on-farm seminars.
He says dairy farmers deserve recognition for their efforts.
Other dairying regions around the country have also seen a lift in effluent compliance rates.
