Tihiroa Farms Limited Fined for Environmental Breach in New Zealand

Tihiroa Farms Limited, a dairy farming company, has been convicted and fined $37,750 for the unlawful discharge of effluent into the environment. The sentence was imposed by Judge Melinda Dickey at the District Court in Hamilton on November 21, 2025, following a prosecution under the Resource Management Act initiated by the Waikato Regional Council.

In September of the previous year, council officers conducted an inspection at a farm near Ōtorohanga, where Tihiroa Farms Limited is engaged in milking operations. During the inspection, officers discovered that dairy effluent discharged from an irrigator was flowing overland directly into the Ongaruhe Stream, which is a tributary of the Waipā River.

Despite the presence of adequate effluent infrastructure on the farm, the company failed to implement robust management practices to prevent such discharges into nearby waterways. Patrick Lynch, Regional Compliance Manager, stated that the impacts on the stream were significant.