The EPA has been visiting dairy sheds over the past 12 months, assessing operations for adherence to the Environment Protection (Water Quality) Policy 2015.
The EPA has also begun a review of the Code of practice for milking shed effluent and has undertaken early consultation with the South Australian dairy industry.
It is also collaborating with Agriculture Victoria to make the best use of Australia’s knowledge in sustainable dairy management to progress effective and nationally consistent approaches.
Agriculture Victoria and Dairy Australia collaborated to release national guidelines for dairy feed pads and contained housing earlier this year in a joint project with Dairy Australia. There is a national trend towards larger, more intensive farms.
In addition to the code of practice review, the EPA also intends to draft an odour separation distance guideline as well as a new planning and development guideline for intensive dairies. Both would be consistent with the new national guidelines.
The EPA is in the early stages of this work. It is anticipated that the documents will be completed in 2024, following full consultation with key industry stakeholders.
If you would like to know more, contact David Palmer, Senior Environment Protection Officer (Water Quality), on (08) 8463 7121 or email David.Palmer@sa.gov.au