Five Star Beef feedlot

Update 3 November 2021 

A feedlot near Ashburton has featured in the media recently. Our role is to monitor environmental compliance and check the operation is complying with the conditions of its resource consents. 

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) focuses on the protection of the welfare of animals under the Animal Welfare Act. 

Current consents conditions

In terms of environmental requirements, Five Star Beef Ltd currently has 12 resource consents for the feedlot, as well as two Farming Land Use (FLU) consents. Details about these are all available via our consent search (search by using the keyword Five Star Beef).

The consents cover the collection, storage and discharge of animal effluent from the site, the discharge of odour to air, and the take and use of groundwater.  

Most consents were granted under the previous regional planning framework (the Natural Resources Regional Plan) and those that were required to be, were publicly notified. Most of the consents will expire by 2040. 

Recent consent applications

Resource consents are required by the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater Regulations 2020 for the use of land for holding cattle in a feedlot and the discharge of contaminants into land from the base of the feedlot. 

Two consent applications have been lodged by Five Star Beef Ltd (CRC213473 and CRC213474) and are currently being assessed, including determining if notification is required.  

Compliance monitoring

The Five Star Beef Ltd consents are a high priority for compliance and regularly monitored by us. Consent conditions also require regular environmental reporting. 

The two Farming Land Use consents obtained by the farming operation and feedlot in 2020, to comply with the Land and Water Regional Plan’s nutrient management rules, are audited by independent auditors and achieved A grades in 2021. 

Technical non-compliance issues relating to record keeping and data collection methods are being addressed through agreed actions with Five Star Beef Ltd.    

About Five Star Beef 

Five Star Beef Ltd owns and operates New Zealand’s largest cattle feedlot located close to the Canterbury coastline, near Ashburton.   

The feedlot has been operating since 1991 and it includes an area of 46.5 ha housing up to 19,000 cattle.  

The feedlot is a large-scale operation that feeds cattle prior to slaughter. It operates with controlled and monitored disposal of effluent and other discharges, for which there are consent conditions. 

Previous updates

15 October 2018

Environment Canterbury can confirm:

  • The Five Star Beef feedlot is a large-scale operation that feeds cattle prior to slaughter. It operates essentially as a “sealed unit” with controlled and monitored disposal of effluent and other discharge, for which there are consent conditions.
  • Five Star Beef’s consents were publicly notified. Environment Canterbury actively monitors those consents on an ongoing (monthly) basis. In addition, Environment Canterbury staff spend two full days on site each year reviewing compliance against all of Five Star Beef’s consents.
  • Five Star Beef is categorised as 'technically non-compliant - action required' – the equivalent of a C grade – which generally relates to issues able to be rectified relatively easily. It is not the sort of significant non-compliance (equivalent to a D grade) most likely to result in infringement or enforcement action.
  • Five Star Beef’s 'technically non-compliant - action required' status is the result of groundwater sampling, manure analysis and management practices information not being included in its 2017 annual compliance report. These issues have been rectified, but the status will remain in place until December 2018, while Environment Canterbury fully reviews the data.
  • In the past five years, Five Star Beef has had two instances of serious non-compliance, both in 2013. These related to incorrect waste disposal and not logging required data correctly. Due to the nature of the issues, Environment Canterbury worked with Five Star Beef to ensure these issues were rectified. Five Star Beef has been compliant on both of these issues since.

Regardless of grading, should identified compliance issues not be rectified, Environment Canterbury would consider enforcement action.