There's a push to try and get ahead of winter issues on farms before they become major environmental problems.
The regional council's assessing farms for risk now when the weather's good so changes can be made before winter arrives.
Southland farmer, Suzanne Harding, has been preparing her property for winter grazing for months.
She says she knows what's best for her cows.
"Wintering is necessary, we need to be able to feed our animals over winter."
A few kilometres away near Gore, farmer Robert Young has planted his fodder beat crops and created wide buffer ones to minimise waterway pollution.
"We've got to improve our game a bit... on average we are losing about 10% of our paddocks, because we are taking it out to look after our streams."
Both farmers are trying to avoid damage from intensive winter grazing; paddocks muddy from heavy rain pushing sediment into water catchments and jeopardising animal welfare.
So, Environment Southland is trying to identify at-risk land and create a database of information from the roadside and from the air.
Fiona Young said: "Intensive winter grazing is certainly a risky activity for farmers but if it is managed properly and farmers have thought about how they're managing their stock before they come on... then it can be done in a way that can avoid those risks and adverse effects."
She said, "it's an important part of Southland's farming system because we don't grow grass very well down here."
Industry bodies are also pushing for change.
Tim Mackle from DairyNZ said: "A large majority of farmers put a lot of effort around this with good management practice and that's improving all the time as new tools and understanding comes through."
Beef + Lamb chief executive, Sam McIvor, said: "So I am very confident that farmers are taking steps well ahead of time to manage these risks."
The regional council has conducted two helicopter flights and has driven around 200 kilometres and so far found 20 paddocks of serious concern.
Environment Southland hopes to cover as many farms as they can before the winter sets in.
Critics will be keeping a close eye including environmental activist, Geoff Reid.
"When the rain falls that's where we see sediment leaving our landscapes into our rivers, that's when the impacts are happening on our environment."
Further checks are expected to be followed up in winter while new government regulations are not expected until November.
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