A Pahiatua sheep, beef and dairy support farmer believes a nitrogen loss trading scheme could help reduce the impacts of intensive farming on the environment.
Andrew Day has been involved in the Manawatu Whanganui Regional Council's One Plan from the start.
He was the head of Federated Farmers Tararua wing when the One Plan was first floated, and says he left the lobby group because of his incompatible views.
Mr Day believes farmers should be accountable for the impacts their businesses have on the environment.
He says intensive farming and the resulting leaching of nutrients into waterways negatively affect water quality and impact on the local community's ability to use those waterways too.
Mr Day says while the nitrogen capping One Plan is a step in the right direction for managing farming pollution, he thinks a nitrogen trading scheme would work well too.
He says that would mean land owners who were not operating at their capacity could transfer that to other farmers who wanted to use it.
Mr Day says it would mean the most economic use of the resources were encouraged.
"I don't see the point in winding back the intensity of one farm if the farm next door is quite happy to transfer that resource to it, so I think we can have a lot more flexible use of the resource than just by straight ownership of the land."
Mr Day says while he's largely happy with the One Plan, he believes the Horizons Regional Council is now acting against the spirit of the scheme by issuing widespread consents.
The council recently told Radio New Zealand it started issuing consents to all farmers because it was worried some were about to kill themselves.
