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Abstract
Dairy farming in the Waikato Region has contributed greatly to the reduction of
water quality. Part of this is attributable to the issue of inappropriate disposal of dairy
effluent. Regional authority data shows both costs and benefits of complying with effluent
management regulations. Private costs result from system and management improvements,
while private benefits are largely due to reduced fertiliser requirements. Decreases in the
volume of 'non-compliant effluent', resulting from improved compliance, are used as an
indicator to illustrate reduced environmental effects. The benefits of becoming compliant
outweigh the costs for half the farms analysed. More incentives are required to promote
compliance from the other farms although their environmental effects are generally smaller.