Farmers encouraged to check maps

More than 30 people attended a community meeting in Grenfell last week to hear about concerns surrounding the NSW Government’s native vegetation mapping, with farmers warned the changes could have significant implications for land use and property values. NSW Farmers South West Slopes regional manager Greg Welsh said the meeting's strong turnout reflected the growing concern among farmers about how the mapping could affect their properties. Mr Welsh said the mapping, which became operational on 31 August, had left many landholders confused about what the changes meant and what they needed to do to ensure their land was correctly classified. He argued the system was relying on aerial imagery to identify land that appeared undisturbed between 1990 and 2017, with areas then potentially classified as native vegetation despite questions about whether that classification was accurate. “The problem is it’s just a compilation of AI-generated maps,” Mr Welsh said. “They’re trying to say the land hasn’t been disturbed that we can see in our photos from our aerial maps between 1990 and 2017, that it must be native vegetation.” Mr Welsh said the system had placed the responsibility on farmers to challenge classifications they believed were incorrect, rather than requiring the mapping to be verified before it affected their land. He said many properties had been marked with different classifications, with yellow areas particularly common. According to Mr Welsh, the classifications could restrict what farmers were able to do on parts of their properties until the mapping was reviewed, creating uncertainty for landholders planning to make changes to their land. He also raised concerns about the potential effect on property sales, saying some real estate agents were treating mapped areas as land that could not be used as intended, potentially reducing the value of affected properties. “If a farmer’s trying to sell his land, some real estate agents are saying, ‘Well, that land’s worthless,’” he said, describing the concerns being raised by landholders. Mr Welsh said the practical impact varied across NSW, partly depending on the availability of Local Land Services staff who could inspect properties and help resolve disputed classifications. He said some areas were experiencing lengthy waits for inspections, while farmers in the Grenfell district were comparatively better placed due to the availability of local inspectors. Mr Welsh was careful to distinguish between the mapping process and the staff dealing with its consequences, praising Local Land Services for working with farmers and attending community meetings to explain the system. He said the mapping had been developed elsewhere in government, leaving Local Land Services to help landholders navigate the results. Another concern was the difficulty some older farmers could face when accessing the technology needed to check their properties and challenge classifications. Mr Welsh said some landholders in their 80s and 90s had farmed their properties responsibly for decades, in some cases across multiple generations, and could now find themselves struggling to understand what action was required. “It’s quite distressing for them,” he said. He said the large crowds attending NSW Farmers meetings across the region demonstrated how many farmers were only now becoming aware of the changes and their possible implications. Mr Welsh urged landholders to check the mapping of their properties as soon as possible. He recommended downloading the Check My Land NSW app, which allows landholders to examine the mapping of their property, and contacting Local Land Services if they believe the classifications are wrong. He warned farmers not to leave the issue until they needed to sell their property or make changes to their land, saying it was important to address errors early. Mr Welsh said NSW Farmers would continue supporting landholders as they worked through the process and sought to have incorrect mapping corrected. He said the Grenfell meeting was part of a broader series of community events being held across the region to help farmers understand the changes and raise their concerns. For many landholders, he said, the key issue was ensuring the mapping accurately reflected the conditions on the ground and did not create unnecessary restrictions or uncertainty for farming businesses. NSW Farmers upcoming native vegetation mapping community meetings will be held at: Harden Tuesday 27 October Canowindra Wednesday 28 October Cootamundra Thursday 29 October