FARMERS will no longer need an environment protection licence to weigh-down silage covers with more than 5000 tyres, a practice that has been moved to a registration system.
It comes after more than two years of consultation between Dairy Australia; the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Environment; the EPA; and the Victorian Farmers Federation.
The move has been welcomed by the VFF, which has described it as a “win for farmers” and will provide guidance to farmers before registration requirements are introduced on July 1, 2023.
“This is a step in the right direction towards simplifying the process for farmers and avoiding costly and time-consuming red-tape,” said VFF president Emma Germano.
“It was an absolute headache for farmers to obtain a license or face eye-watering fines. The move to compromise and introduce a registration system is a workable solution.”
VFF United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president, Mark Billing, said farmers helped provide invaluable information that was used to design these new regulations.
“We believe this move will streamline compliance and remove the need for a license,” Mr Billing said.
“It’s certainly a better outcome than the current licensing system and will benefit farmers who are storing large quantities of silage.”
