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IrrigationNZ: Out & About
Ashburton Field Trip
In early May Vanessa Winning helped to facilitate a field trip around Canterbury irrigation schemes for representatives from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Ministry for the Environment, (MfE), Te Waihanga/NZ Infrastructure Commission, and other irrigation industry leaders.
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Vanessa made a special mention to thank Rebecca Whillans, Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation General Manager for organising the day, “There was excellent interaction and engagement and I have no doubt everyone walked away having learnt something after a very well organised day.”
“I am truly grateful to the two incredible farming families, the Bierema and Polanen families, for hosting us and taking us through the importance of irrigation at the right time of the plant growing cycle. Visiting an arable farm and a dairy farm showed the symbiotic relationship between animals and growing a variety of crops. These important relationships across the seasons showcased the importance of efficient water use, and having the ability to use less water when you’re guaranteed to have it just in time. The more resilience and reliability; the less wastage. Hopefully this opens more conversations about the need for water availability and security as the climate changes, which will enable plant growth for all types of farming.”
We acknowledge MPI, MfE, and Te Waihanga for supporting their team members to attend and gather feedback to share in Wellington. Thank you, Stephen Cunningham (MPI), for championing the cause. We thank Rebecca Whillans for bringing it all together in order to demonstrate the environmental and economic importance of the collectives at MHV Water, BCI, and ALIL, all of the mighty Rangitata Diversion Race Management Ltd, which powers communities, food development and electricity – from seeds sown in the 1940s.
At the MHV Water Carew water storage ponds.
From left: Melanie Brooks (MHV Water CEO), Stephen Cunningham (Director Industry and Stakeholder Relations MPI), Mackenzie Nicol (Water Policy Manager MPI), Jenny Cameron (Chief Transformation Officer – Fit for a Better World MPI), Keri Johnston (IrrigationNZ Chair), Vanessa Winning (IrrigationNZ CE), and Colin Glass (Dairy Holdings CEO).
