It says to ensure that the industry maintains the right to burn stubble and crop residues, good management practices for burning and smoke management should be adhered to.

Smoke management plans are required to be kept by the land manager, and should be able to be produced on request. Resource consents are not required for stubble burning, unless the property falls within the crop residue burning buffer areas around the Ashburton or Timaru townships.

Burning and smoke management plan template

FAR has developed a Burning and smoke management plan template based on the requirements listed in Schedule 3 of the Proposed Canterbury Air Regional Plan. A plan like this should be completed before each burn. The plan FAR has developed can be found in the forms section of the FAR website. Growers can print this form out and fill it in by hand, or save it to their computers and fill it out electronically.

Remember, growers must be able to produce a copy of the plan if requested by Environment Canterbury. Further information on burning crop residue can be found on the Environment Canterbury website.

The Federated Farmers-Ashburton District Council Crop Residues Burning Code of Practice contains useful information on good management practice around burning for all growers, no matter which council they fall under. It can be found on the Ashburton District Council website.

Source: FAR