Inconsistent council rules on aerial fertiliser spreading are adding cost and complexity for farmers and operators, says Fertiliser Quality Council chair Jim Galloway.

Some airstrips are limited to four takeoffs and landings a day, unworkable for a 200t job needing 100 loads or more.

“It’s more the planners that don’t really understand some of the practicalities of farming and aerial spreading,” he says.

Galloway says the council, NZ Agricultural Aviation Association and Federated Farmers are developing practical template rules councils can adopt.

“Sometimes I wonder if AI is making the rules because you’d think that they couldn’t be that silly.”

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