If Lake Taupo farmers do not comply with new consent rules that come into force on Thursday, they will be farming illegally.

A new policy approved by the Environment Court, known as Variation 5 to the Waikato Regional Plan, gives farmers six months from July 7, to apply for a resource consent to cover their operations.

The rule change aims to reduce nitrogen input into the lake by 20 per cent by 2020.

The capping of existing discharges from the land-based operations, and the introduction of consents for farming is one of the measures the Waikato Regional Council is taking.

Once farmers have filed their consent application, they can continue farming as normal, until the outcome of the application is determined.

But if they haven’t applied for resource consent within the six months, their farming activities will be unlawful.

The Waikato Regional Council believes most farmers are well prepared for the rule change, and are ready to apply for consent.