WINTER 2022 HŌTOKE 2022 Irrigation System Performance Assessment training in Northland Training and the upskilling of our industry continues to be a large focus for IrrigationNZ FRESHWATER FARM PLANS EXPLAINED AN OVERVIEW OF HE WAKA EKA NOA ON-FARM IMPROVEMENTS – ONE PHASE AT A TIME Bucket testing the performance of a solid set frost fighting system on avocados.
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3/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 EDITOR Ella Stokes / 027 208 6371 / estokes@irrigationnz.co.nz ADVERTISING, ADMIN & SUBSCRIPTIONS admin@irrigationnz.co.nz PUBLISHED BY Irrigation New Zealand / PO Box 8014, Wellington 6143 DESIGN Rosie Fenton DISTRIBUTION New Zealand Post PRINTING Caxton COVER PHOTO Courtesy of Julie Melhopt ISSN 2230-5181 IrrigationNZ News is published by Irrigation New Zealand Inc (IrrigationNZ) four times a year. The circulation includes all IrrigationNZ members. The opinions expressed in IrrigationNZ News do not necessarily reflect the views of IrrigationNZ. The information contained in this publication is general in nature with every effort being made to ensure its complete accuracy. No responsibility can be accepted for any errors or copyright breach that may occur beyond the control of the editor or IrrigationNZ. Permission must be sought from the Editor prior to reproduction of any material contained in this publication. www.irrigationnz.co.nz REGULAR FEATURES 4 FROM THE CHAIR / Keri Johnston 5 FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE / Vanessa Winning 6 OUT & ABOUT 8 VIEW FROM HERE / Julia Jones, NZX Ltd 11 VIEW FROM THERE / Kelly Cooper, North Dakota State University 17 FMG / Plan for spring winds 32 TECHNICAL MATTERS / Commissioning a system 40 Seasonal climate outlook 42 DID YOU KNOW? / Infographics FEATURES 12 COVER STORY / IrrigationNZ training in Northland 15 Sharing knowledge enables better farming decisions 20 WARWICK CROFT / Making on-farm improvements one phase at a time 24 JANET HODGETTS / Science and art – hand in hand 27 Nitrate testing for Northland 28 He Waka Eke Noa – an overview 30 Nitrogen recycling 34 Freshwater farm plans 35 Preparing for new dam safety requirements 36 A vision to improve freshwater quality 12 35 20 246
Keri ChairJohnstonofIrrigationNZ
The appeal of the teals is that they are walking the line between placing importance on economics (and the societal impacts associated with the state of the economy) and on the environment, and they have totally stirred up the Australian political landscape. They did not feel the need to align themselves to a political party, but were feeling the need to stand by and for their values, and what they care about. They do not see the people and the economy as being separate from the environment. This will resonate with many of us. Therefore, I am asking for our entire sector to re-imagine our vision in order to find a way forward. We must support our leadership and each other in a way that is kind, and call out the behaviours that are destructive to the people in our sector and the sector itself. We need to question with genuine curiosity, learn from each other, and stand by each other. We are great farmers. We are innovative. But most importantly, we do what we do because, to quote the awesome wāhine leader Becks Smith, “we want to be the best FOR the world, not just the best IN the world”. We can always do better, and we should, because it is the right thing to do. It will be challenging, and it will be controversial. We may be judged, but the prize is worth it – healthy and thriving land, water and air, a prosperous society, and a secure future for our descendants. It is our intergenerational responsibility to make sure this happens. It has been pointed out to me that while there is fear out there, there is equally as much hope. So, here is to the rise of the philosophy of the teals in Aotearoa. Let’s fuel the hope, allay the fears, and do what is right. Who’s with me?
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Tēnā koutou, For my column in this issue I want to share with you an article that I wrote for LinkedIn. As we get through winter and head into spring, a season of growth and new life, it is an enjoyable time to look forward. I wish all our IrrigationNZ family well. Ngā mihi, Keri I love politics. I have absolutely zero political ambition, but I have always been fascinated by how politics plays out, as well as the players themselves. And not just in New Zealand. I watched the recent Australian election with a particular focus on the rise of the teals. These are independent candidates with an eye on the economy and an eye on the environment – a true blue/green cross (hence the name teals). A couple of weeks ago a group of amazing wāhine gathered in a pub in Christchurch. After having spent the day listening and learning about what a future food and fibre sector could look like at E Tipu (The Boma Agri Summit), we were feeling energised and excited, and most importantly, supported and connected. We discussed the recent He Waka Eke Noa agreement, the industry organisations, and other groups that have formed out of dissatisfaction with the industry organisations. We reflected upon what we were reading and hearing, and the behaviours that we were seeing – behaviours that are damaging not only to us as a sector, but to the hard-working, passionate individuals who get out of bed every day to do what they love. We were all concerned and worried about the fact that we have started to attack each other, and that is not ok. Our vision has been blurred, and we are caught up in a vicious cycle of misinformation, mistrust, scaremongering, and hurt. Name calling, personal attacks, and threats are the stuff of playgrounds – and we are better than that. Every time I read about what a poor job the food and fibre sector leadership is doing at advocating for our farmers, seemingly signing us up to the end of farming as we know it, my gut wrenches. Leadership is not about doing what is easy or popular, but tackling the hard stuff, listening intently to all points of view, and always looking ahead. It means stepping away from our own farms and trying to find the best way for our entire sector. There are many who are happy to sit behind a keyboard and attack the integrity and capability of our sector leaders, but very few who are willing to take on these roles. We are losing talented, skilled, awesome people because of the toll that this often negative, derogatory feedback is taking. And this is happening at all levels of leadership – grass roots to national. So, where am I going with all of this? I do what I do because I love everything about our sector, and where we can go. I want our sector to see change as not just necessary, but full of opportunities and optimism, and it absolutely can be – it is all about perspective. I respect everyone’s right to have and share their opinion, provided it is expressed in a way that is respectful and mindful of the fact that there is a human being at the other end of it. We should all be ultimately interested in understanding the different points of view that exist. When we are discussing complex social, political, and institutional dynamics, we need to consider whether “I don’t agree” may actually mean “I don’t understand,” and consider that not opposing may not mean acceptance, but perhaps just getting on with it. We have all been guilty of putting effort into protecting our worldviews rather than expanding them, and this ultimately stifles our own personal growth.
Leadership – tackling the hard stuff
FROM THE CHAIR
The Central Plains Water Limited scheme originally received funding from the Crown Irrigation fund but is now fully funded through private interests and shareholders. Both have been successful in getting water to farmers, and both are heavily reliant on their regional councils continuing to support farm development and consented land use for farming. The process around this is fraught with local interests. This puts a lot of stress on shareholders when funders are looking at shorter terms and higher returns because perceived risk could be greater than the actual risk for a multi-generational investment. This leads to the point of my commen tary – we need more certainty around what’s acceptable and for how long, to ensure we can invest wisely. Both National and Labour understand the value the wider primary industries provide, and they both want improvements in managing externalities over time, but between local and central governments long-term decisions are being kicked into touch. This causes funders, like banks and syndicates, concerns about the ability to pay back lending for new or improved structures. Sustainable partnerships with local and central governments are needed to help develop new capture and storage options. Improving existing and long-term consents is required to help farmers and growers invest in their land for improved outcomes. It seems so simple from where I’m standing. Vanessa Winning Chief IrrigationNZExecutive
FROM THE CE
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Providing certainty to keep improving
This autumn has been another season of challenges in New Zealand. We celebrate achievements in agriculture with expected export revenue of $52 billion, at the same time as we see several of our rules change, and the world moving towards some pretty big sustainability goals that seem almost unachievable.Whentrade wins are still coming to fruition, most recently the British free trade agreement and the more limited EU trade agreement, and our products are still at some record highs, there is much to celebrate. We are not alone with the demands our public is putting on us as farmers. In some cases we’re in a better position than other countries because we’ve been on this journey for many years already. We’re ahead in the way we produce our food – sustainably, profitably without subsidies, and with the highest animal welfare standards. There is more to come, and we have a part to play;as a large part of society, we need to be mindful of the impact we have. Having the headroom to work through the international demands relating to carbon, local animal welfare, and environmental impact is key to our successful navigation of these expectations. We require support to change, the financial bandwidth to make changes, and certainty that in making changes we will still have a social licence/consent to operate, and a return from the investment needed. As a country, we need to work more on these three things. When we speak with farmers and growers wanting to do a better job they state that the biggest challenges are; knowing what to do, being able to do what needs done, and knowing that the required investment is going to achieve a return in the future. They often seek longer time frames around permitted activity and seemingly everchanging rules. Water availability and security is one of the biggest issues we are hearing about. This impacts farmers’ ability to change land use, to develop more mixed farming options, and grow crops and trees alongside and comple mentary to animal agriculture. The myths around irrigation perpetuate. We’re very often having to point out that 90 percent of fruit and vegetables need irrigation, and all do at certain points in the growing cycle, whereas less than 29 percent of our animal agriculture does. Water gives us choices. We get enough of it – as we’re experiencing in the north as I write this – but we don’t capture and store it adequately.Watersecurity takes significant investment and impacts not just the farmer/grower who is investing, but the whole community, so better models are needed. In this past month I had the opportunity to see two diverse options up close and in detail. The Tai Tokerau water scheme of three smaller developments across Northland has had Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) loans.
Vanessa visited the Te Waihekeora reservoir development in Kaipara. It will hold approximately 270,000m3 of water, to support a new horticultural development on property immediately adjacent to the reservoir. The project is led by Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust. Pictured is Vanessa with Murray McCully, Te Tai Tokerau Water Trustee (left) and Barbara Kuriger, National Party spokesperson on Agriculture (middle).
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involvementIrrigationNZ with Young Farmers and Agrikids
IrrigationNZ:
It was a privilege to be asked for the first time to put together some challenging tasks for the Young Farmers AgriKids events this year. Earlier in the year we provided some challenges for the regional competitions. After the success of these we put together a special one which involved putting together a mini irrigation system. This was used in the Grand Final at the beginning of July (see top right). It was a great opportunity to showcase the importance of irrigation across the farming sectors. Young Farmers is an important organisation for our community, not only for social connectedness, which is vital, but also for development and learning to grow our talent. It was pleasing to see both city and rural people get in behind the regional finals and grand final, across multiple farming operations. We look forward to continuing to ensure our young and future farmers have a good base knowledge of the importance of well-managed irrigation. Out & TeAboutTaiTokerauWaterVisit
The awards evening is a great opportunity to come together and celebrate as we recognise the winners.
In late June, Stephen attended the Wi Pere Trust farms open day in Tairawhiti, Gisborne. The day covered information about the operation’s overall environmental footprint, and water catchment guardianship including tuna (eel) monitoring as an indicator of freshwater quality. They are an Ahuwhenua Trophy finalist. The extensive farming operations include hill country grazing, and at lower elevation include irrigated horticulture supported by water storage.
Guest Speaker: Damien O’Connor Minister of Agriculture Drinks and nibbles will be available at the awards evening thanks to the generous sponsorship of Anderson Lloyd Please RSVP at www.irrigationnz.co.nz/EventsAndTraining/AGM
While Stephen McNally (left) and Julie Melhopt were in Northland they visited the Matawii Water Storage Project, a 750,000m3 reservoir situated north-east of Kaikohe, the development of which is led by Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust. Matawii will be able to provide water to the under-construction Ngawha Innovation and Enterprise Park, and other surrounding horticultural ventures. It will also provide a backup supply to Kaikohe in times of water shortages.
Wi Pere Trust Field Day
OUT & ABOUT
Wednesday 26 October 2022 in Wellington
Matawii Water Storage Project
All members are welcome, please join us. Held in Wellington at the ANZ Building, 180 Featherston Street. AGM begins at 4.30pm followed by the awards evening at 6pm, attendees can choose to come to either sessions or both.
IrrigationNZ Annual General Meeting and Awards Evening
The Innovation in Irrigation Award, in association with Ballance Agri-Nutrients, celebrates, encourages, and promotes innovation, alongside the positive initiatives being undertaken in our communities with, and as a result of, irrigation. The Ron Cocks Memorial Award recognises a person who has made a significant contribution to irrigation in New Zealand. We will also recognise our Honorary Member for 2022.
“New Zealand Agriculture needs to get better at telling its story”. Cue eye roll and sigh. At times it feels frustrating. We feel like we are telling our story and it feels like no one is listening. I can assure you they are listening, and they want more. What we need to get our head around is that it’s not about one story or one process, or one way of doing things. “Telling our story” kind of implies there is only one story, and that all stories should be the same. We saw this play out with the bizarre uproar over the Hawea Station Country Calendar episode. Telling a different story and doing things differently was seen by some as letting the team down; “Everyone will think that’s how we farm or should farm in the future”. Ironically, the reactions that were overly aggressive told their own story, and it wasn’t a favourable one. The Food and Fibre (F&F), agriculture, and farming sector is made up of humans. By default humans are all different. We are complex creatures made up of unique values andMorebeliefs.than ever it is time to embrace and connect different perspectives, and avoid the temptation to average perspectives to get a consensus. Driving for a consensus is not democracy. We should be driving for different perspectives through critical thinking. Because of this F&F should be seen as a platform for multiple stories that honour the differences across the sector. We have so much to celebrate.
NZXHeadJonesofInsightLimited
VIEW FROM HERE
Julia
New Zealand Food and Fibre is a platform for multiple stories
8 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 Everywhere you go you will be hearing
IS ALL THEY REALLY CARE ABOUT THE PRICE? Everyone has a price point that turns them towards or away from a product, no matter how much we believe in it or like it. This will be mainly defined by personal financial circumstances. The price will play a part in the consumer’s decision, but it’s often further down the hierarchy than we think. Often our decisions are partially made subconsciously. Our brain then tries to rationalise the decision and backfills the reasoning. This subconscious part of decisionmaking will be driven by values and beliefs, so it will come from a feeling of connection you have with a story, method, or product. If we have knowledge or understanding of the topic this is also likely to influence our decision-making. As producers you are probably very familiar with your products, and intimately know the production process. You need to be careful to avoid assuming the consumer knows more than they do. You can’t expect them to walk in your shoes. The common disconnection from how food is produced means there is a lack of understanding by many consumers. Scarily, they often get ‘information’ from social media, general media, and randomly seen bits of information. SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND THEN BE UNDERSTOOD As a sector we are great at sharing stories with each other. However, my observations are that we continue to stumble at the empathy hurdle. When it comes to understanding others that we may not fully relate to or totally agree with, we struggle to stop, listen, and understand. I acknowledge that farmers feel attacked, but as much as it might feel like it some days, the world isn’t out to get you. If we want to be understood, we need to learn how to understand others that might not be the same as us. Firstly, if we take the time to understand others, we will be better at communicating with them. Secondly, it supports our mind’s growth and critical thinking.Now,beforeyou worry, understanding isn’t about agreeing. You can understand, empathise, and still completely disagree with someone. However, the process of seeking understanding can be powerful, and can support a more constructive response. A good disagreement should motivate curiosity, not shut it down. NOT EVERYONE WILL LIKE YOU OR WANT TO LISTEN TO YOU Fighting at the extremes or aiming to convert the non-believers is a waste of energy.
9/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 WILL MULTIPLE STORIES CONFUSE THE CONSUMER?
Consumers are also humans, so they will all have different values and beliefs. Given that there are billions of consumers, and we only target a small sliver, there are loads of opportunities to deliver a difference. It’s important we don’t average out the consumers’ needs or assume they are all like us. Just as we all have different values and beliefs, so will they. What they will connect with most of all is values that are meaningful to them. So, we won’t confuse consumers with different stories, we will each simply connect better with those that naturally relate to the values or beliefs of our story. This can even come down to the media, and the style in which the story is told. Some will like the story of why, and others will want to know all the details.
Regarding those who don’t understand but are looking to understand, the undecided is where the magic really happens. This is where our energy is best spent and where we will have the most impact in ensuring our truth is delivered. There will always be activists. To be honest, New Zealand doesn’t have many compared to other countries. Activists are kind of useful; they will never provide a good solution, but from time to time they will shine a light on a needed change in focus.
Debates on the fringes often hinge on the belief that the best outcome is to convince everyone there is only one possible perspective or solution, that one party is right and another is wrong, and that shades of grey are only what happen to our hair as we age. Not everyone will love what you have to say. Not everyone will relate and agree. That is all the more reason to have multiple stories and showcase multiple methods of farming. Be cautious of falling into the ‘unappreciated teenage condition’. This is where thinking becomes irrational; we metaphorically slam doors, yell loudly, and assume no one understands us and that others only disagree because they just don’t like us. Ultimately, this can lead to; communicating only with those that tell us what we want to hear, avoiding being challenged, believing it is everyone else that has the problem, and relinquishing responsibility. At the end of the day, we need to accept that some people will never agree with us or like what we do, and that is their prerogative. Let it go. YOU DO YOU, AND LET OTHERS BE THEMSELVES We care for our animals, our people, and our environment. We all have a common purpose.
It’s okay that we might go about achieving that differently. Someone doing something different isn’t an insult to you. We are all different. As humans we will not relate to everyone, so it’s ok to not relate to someone. What isn’t ok is to start a disagreement rampage. If they are not hurting the land, animals, or humans, and you aren’t lending them money or giving them land, how is it your business?Iftheyaredoing things that are not right then follow the process to report them. If they are just doing things differently than you can’t relate to, let it go. Be conscious of the sector contradictions. They don’t work in our favour and it’s hard to win over the majority vote when we don’t makeIt’ssense.okto have different views and pers pectives, but let’s try to avoid blatant contra dictions. For example, we want people to join the sector from outside of the agricultural sector, but when they do things differently, we sometimes criticise them. We want to be understood but we won’t take the time to understand others. We get upset when people comment on farming with no knowledge of farming, but we will happily speak as though we’re an expert on a topic we know nothing about. We can’t talk our way out of situations we behave our way into, so behave with respect.Thereisa raft of uncertainty ahead of us. It’s ok to show a level of vulnerability about this but we need to grow our ability to respond to what we CAN’T predict; to ensure we continue to develop our resilience and continue to use our sector as a powerful platform for evolution. From that will come multiple stories, a celebration of what we have achieved, and motivation for the many achievements that are ahead.
I live in southeastern North Dakota (ND), right in the middle of North America. Our mid continental location dictates our weather, which tends to be extreme. Only Siberia experiences greater changes in temperature. My family has been in the area since 1865, as my great grandfather was a scout in the cavalry. I was born in 1958, and the lack of rain seemed to be perpetual as I grew up. Occasionally we would get a winter with a large amount of snowfall, such as the winter of 1968–69. There was water all over in the following spring. By July, we were dry again with no standing water. My father always told me it could get wet. He talked about not being able to pull the hayrack up from the southwest quarter. But outside of the one year in the spring of ‘69, I knew only of begging for Irrigationrain. first became seriously talked about in our region in 1944. This was because the Pick-Sloan project was authorised by Congress. This was a big plan, including dams, power generation, recreation, and irrigation for millions of acres. The dream for us was to receive irrigation water from the Missouri River, which runs through North Dakota. The Missouri River is large, and the potential of bringing water to large areas of North Dakota, including our farm, led my father to become involved in the planning process by being on the board of directors of the local oversight group. The project became bogged down with bureaucracy, unfortunately, and Missouri water has never made it to the eastern part of the state where I live. There has been some success with the program and the battle is ongoing. Irrigation continued in our area. In 1975 a young couple moved into our area, buying three quarters of land, which is 480 acres. Tom and Kathy Heimbuch were the first people to install large field scale irrigation in our neighbourhood. This was a big deal, to say the least! I was very excited to learn we had sufficient quantity and suitable quality of groundwater to irrigate with. As a 17-yearold I was fascinated to see a whole quarter section of land irrigated. No more praying that a rare darkening cloud would come over and leave a half-inch of rain on our typically parched pasture and limited crop ground. My mother and father, adults in the dust bowl days of the 1930s, told me stories of blowing sand, no rain, nothing green, starving cattle, wells going dry, and banks closing. None of this really sunk in until I became an adult, and I realised just how fortunate I was. The electricity, health care, good roads, education, central heating, and air conditioning that we demand and take for granted, they did not have or even dream of having. Times change. I quickly became acquainted with our new irrigation neigh bours. I worked part time for the Heimbuch’s in my first year out of high school. Tom had a master’s degree in soil science. He had done the field work for his degree at the local irrigation research site near Oakes, ND, just 20 miles from our farm. Tom was more than happy to share his enthusiasm and knowledge. After a month of working for him I was enrolled at North Dakota State University, majoring in soils, starting in the fall of 1976. Tom was an innovator. He started growing corn, but then progressed into more specialised crops such as dry beans, potatoes, and onions. This was possible because of irrigation. After getting my degree in soils, my wife Sharon and I came back home and started a soil testing lab and sampling business. Tom was, of course, a good customer and soon I became involved in monitoring the potatoes and onions,which involved checking for disease and insects, scheduling irrigation, and testing tissue nitrogen. In the late 1980s rain was especially scarce in the region and the major potato processors in the region moved from dryland production to irrigated. Oakes, ND is a focal point of irrigation, with sandy soils and prevalent groundwater, so naturally the dryland potato growers made alliances with irrigation farmers around Oakes. I found myself very busy. I had the pleasure to meet and work with a very dynamic group of individuals. None was more dynamic than Durant Schiermeister. Durant had the enthusiasm and will of a charging bull moose. Durant and his wife Sharon owned a farm on the banks of the Missouri River south of Bismarck, a long drive away. I was ‘encouraged’ into working with Durant by one of the plant pathologists I heavily relied on. The pathologist said Durant was calling him so often that he couldn’t get anything done and that if I didn’t take Durant on as a customer, I wouldn’t get any more info. It turned out to be a very fun and enjoyable experience. Sharon and I made Durant’s potatoes our summer weekend project. His farm used mostly river water, a new experience for me, and I quickly found out river water is not all that easy. The fluctuating water levels, debris in the water, and access are all obstacles we don’t have with wells. We checked his fields on Saturdays and enjoyed a night out on the town, giving our wives some social life. When 1993 came it was like a switch was flipped. A switch that turned on the rain. Is it climate change? Sunspots? Secret govern
VIEW FROM THERE
10 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022
From a drought-filled childhood to a career in irrigation Kelly NorthResearchCooperAgronomistDakotaStateUniversity
11/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 ment projects? All I can say is that based on geology, fossil record, and all credible knowledge, the average conditions for our area over the past 2.4 million years has been several hundred feet of glacial ice. For us, the weather changes drastically, not just from day to day. For us, our average rainfall for most of the 20th century did not exceed the annual evapotranspiration rates. In other words, we used up all the rain and snow we received. Our closest small stream, the Wild Rice River, did not have a stream flow for some years. In 1997, just one year, the Wild Rice River had more water go down it then it did in the entire 1970s. What had happened was the annual precipitation had exceeded the annual water use. Also, we are in a recently glaciated area. Our drainage systems are not mature, and we are referred to as the “Prairie Pothole” region. Most of these small depressions only held water for short periods of time, mostly in the spring, or after a rare heavy thunderstorm. Since 1993 the frequency of thunderstorms and rainfalls exceeding two inches has increased. To the delight of many fishermen, these depressions, or “potholes” have grown into lakes filled with fish. Ice fishing is popular, with anglers trying to keep newfound locations secret. Managing irrigation in this new normal proved to be interesting. In the old days, I had people tell me, “Why would I hire somebody to tell me when to irrigate when we run the irrigators continuously from the middle of June to the middle of August?” New situations came up. How do you manage high water table soils? Can you trust a forecast? What happens when an irrigator sits for two weeks? Also, diseases became more prevalent, especially Late Blight, which is the old scourge that caused the Irish potato famine in 1849. Tile drainage, which was as rare as a two-inch rain in the 1980s, has become a must for irrigation. My Dad, when involved in the early days of the irrigation project, always said you can’t irrigate without drainage. That is 100 percent correct. The Heimbuch farm, now operated by Tom’s sons, was one of the first to install tile drainage. Had they not had a good drain age system they would have had very little land to farm in the last two years. What will happen next? The economics, weather, and technology have all changed and I’m sure will continue to change.
Kelly Cooper is the research agronomist at North Dakota State University’s (NDSU) Carrington Research Extension Centre, and at NDSU’s Oakes Irrigation Research Site on the Robert Titus Research Farm. His interest in irrigation developed from an early age, due to growing up in an area which saw the hardship that came from drought.
Irrigation is essential in North Dakota to grow crops like potatoes and onions. Last year showed it can still get dry, and ranchers who had irrigated alfalfa were very fortunate.
Tom passed away in May of 2020, and Durant in May of 2021. The spirit of Tom and Durant will always be with us, to provide leadership, encouragement, and willpower. Water and soil will always need to be managed to maintain quality, availability, and productivity. We must not forget we need to be responsible with how we treat these indispensable resources. Irrigation is essential in our area to grow crops like potatoes and onions. As we found out last year, it can still get dry, and ranchers who had irrigated alfalfa were very fortunate. Crops such as corn, dry beans, and soybeans can do well in dryland, but do better under irrigation. Personally, irrigation was the backbone of my career. As we go forth, we have unbelievable capability to secure a brilliant future, and irrigation will be an essential component.
Crops such as corn, dry beans, and soybeans can do well in dryland, but do better under irrigation.
A good day to be a duck. It was wet and stormy weather for the Performance Assessment course as the students got stuck in with the practical work.
IrrigationNZ training in Northland
COVER STORY
Through the government’s Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund, IrrigationNZ has put over 60 students through the Certificate in Irrigation System Performance Assessment ‘fees-free’, running five courses around the country in the last 12 months. As this magazine goes to print our Bay of Plenty course run by Vicky Bloomer will be getting underway. If you are interested in learning something new and/or completing irrigation qualifications please check out the Upcoming Events page on our website. Please contact us via admin@irrigationnz.co.nz if there is a particular course you would like more information about.
Training and the upskilling of our industry has con tinued to be a large focus for IrrigationNZ. Our third Certificate in Irrigation System Performance Assess ment course for 2022 was held in Northland in the first week of July. Twelve students braved some rather wet weather to join tutor Stephen McNally in the field and in the classroom for the three-day horticulture focused blockStephencourse.said, “Over the last year we have seen over 30 students attend the Irrigation Design qualification and more than 60 working on the Performance Assess ment course. It’s so gratifying to get positive feedback from those attending – that the training will make a real difference in their work in the industry. Our Commercial Manager, Julie Melhopt, has done a massive job coordinating the enrolments, supporting the tutors, managing the venues across the country, and keeping students on track for their assignments.”
Photos, top left: Irrigation is crucial to growing the perfect avocado in Northland.
Top right: Mapua Avocado Orchard Manager John Barlow with Stephen McNally. Above: Burnage Orchard’s water storage pond, with avocado trees in the background.
13/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022
“The difference with this project was that NIWA was responsive to our needs. We worked together to understand what data would be most useful to help us meet environmental regulations, and how best to receive this information.”
/ Continued over
Fernside farmer Julie Bradshaw and Flaxton farmer Stu Bailey were able to make better informed decisions for their farms after participating in a five-year National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) co innovation study.
Julie is participating in a six-month farming innovation project, which examines how the next generation of farmers are using innovative approaches to improve their farm ing practices.
Sharing knowledge enables better farming decisions
Waimakariri Landcare Trust (WLT) and Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL) have partnered with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for the project, with support from MPI’s Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund along with Environment Canterbury, Ballance, and DairyNZ.
“In the past you would look at the top of the soil and think it looked too wet or too dry, but actually it could be a bit dry on the top and wetter underneath where the grass roots are, and you wouldn’t know that unless you have the moisture probes to measure it.”
Julie would love to see further studies conducted to gauge the benefits gained during and after the project. She believes the project provides an excellent example for other groups who want to successfully engage with farmers to improve environmental outcomes.
Fellow co-innovation study group mem ber, Stu Bailey, a fourth generation Flaxton dairy farmer, said working with NIWA helped him make better farming decisions, especially on irrigation.“Theydeveloped an easy-to-use tool that helped us to do things better. Before the project we had limited data, but we now have a much broader understanding of what is really happening under the ground.”
Stu said having access to a broad range of data opened his eyes to how useful science can be when it is used in a practical way. “We are looking at other ways to use the information. Having the data helps us to feel confident that we are making scientifically based decisions. We have improved our irrigation infrastructure to better meet the demands of the soil and the grass, which means we are now using less water.”
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“It was a reciprocal relationship between our farmers and NIWA. They had no experience of dairy farming, but it worked because we were willing to listen to each other and NIWA had a genuine desire to provide us with data that was practical and helpful.”
Fernside dairy farmer, Julie Bradshaw, says sharing scientific data in a way that was easily understandable and useful for farmers helped to create close bonds between landowners and NIWA scientists during a five-year joint co-innovation study.
16 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 Technology for efficient irrigation management GalileoGalcon CLOUD The most horticultureforCloud-basedadvancedcontrolleragricultureand FlexiboreCrusader Flexible riser system for submersible pumps up to 250mm Senninger i-Wob 2 Pivot Sprinkler Protective shroud guards against harsh operating conditions OctaveArad Flow Meters Revolutionary, precise and super reliable ultrasonic bulk water meter To find your local dealer contact Water Supply Products: Auckland: 09-916 0094 Christchurch: 03-348 1293 info@watersupply.co.nz www.watersupply.co.nz
“We want information that is easy to understand in a couple of minutes because we are so busy working on the land that we don’t want to be sitting around reading long reports. We want to be able to understand what we need to do and then go out and do it.”
Meanwhile, this season Julie has been improving the condition of the grass on her farm. A consultant has conducted soil testing and provided insights into actions she could take to boost the nutrient value of the grass. “We are looking at adding different species to our grass, along with plantains and a different mix of grasses to give us a wider spread.“Thereisno point just adding more fer tiliser if you don’t know where you sit – you have to consider the environmental impact of your actions.”
Julie’s KiwiCross herd, which is a cross between Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cows, is currently ranked in the top five percent of Canterbury herds for breeding and produc tion, and sits just outside the top five percent at a national level. She is passionate about continuing to improve the value of her herd through genetics. “We have 99 percent recorded ancestry and all our herd are DNA tested, so we know exactly what we have and where we should be heading. As a business it is about getting the most efficient cows, and then breeding from those“Allcows.”dairy farmers need to be taking action to have the best herd of cows because that is going to be the reality moving forward. Cow numbers are already being reduced across Europe to meet tougher environmental regulations, and it will happen here too.”
“For example, in the beginning the infor mation on moisture capacity of the soil was extremely basic and displayed in a percentage format. This was changed to a colour scale so we could see immediately where the moisture was sitting in the soil.”
“The best thing to do is to start working towards your genetic metrics now, as it is not something you can do in a year. It will take at least five or six years to get the best herd and we need to be proactive about this.” We want information that is easy to understand in a couple of minutes because we are so busy working on the land that we don’t want to be sitting around reading long reports. We want to be able to understand what we need to do and then go out and do it.
PRACTICE
FMG will be holding workshops in conjunction with IrrigationNZ in the coming months. Keep an eye out for a location near you. Head to www.fmg.co.nz/advice/irrigators for more information, including the ‘Point, Park and Anchor’ principles, and access to the free Irrigator Advice Guide to help protect your irrigators.
AUTHORITY There needs to be a clear understanding of who is responsible for monitoring winds and making the final decision to proceed with the action plan. Lines of authority should include more than one person because the person who normally makes the decision may not be onfarm at the time.
Plan springforwinds
New Zealand weather patterns are known for being variable and unpre dictable. Farmers and growers are increasingly more connected online.
17/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022
main areas of consideration when reviewing your plan:
PREDICTION
FMG’s Manager of Advice Services, Angela Hogg, said winter is the time to be reviewing your plan so you can minimise disruption and avoid expensive repairs. “Also, with the strains on global supply chains, parts could be hard to source and mean potentially months of disruption.”Therearefour
ACTION It’s important that all staff understand what the agreed farm plan is if strong winds are on the way. This could include the method of ‘Point, Park and Anchor’. Everyone should understand their responsibilities and the process. This should also include what happens after the winds have passed and it is time to get back to irrigating.
The winter months are a good time to practice the plan, especially for new staff members who are not familiar with the plan. Just like firefighters, the events may be spasmodic, so on-the-job practice is limited. Therefore, time needs to be put aside to practice the plan. This is also a good time to flesh out any issues within the plan, including any Health and Safety risks. “Wind damage to irrigators remains the top loss cause in our claims, accounting for 34 percent of claims,” said Angela. “Over half of all wind damage claims occur in spring and there’s real benefit from the ‘Point, Park and Anchor’ advice.”
Last year’s spring winds brought with them $3.5 million in settled irrigator claims and weeks of valuable production time lost.
Some of our clients have had great success in using platforms such as MetService and Yr as well as applications such as PredictWind and Windy, which allow you to set parameters for wind speed alerts. For example, if the wind speed parameter was set to 50 knots, an alert would be received if the winds were to exceed that speed, allowing you time to plan accordingly. This lead-in time for high wind helps you make better planning decisions.
As well as understanding who is responsible for that part of the business, include the person who is responsible for: • monitoring the weather, • making the decision to take action, and, • getting the irrigators back in action.
Please save the date for the following scheduled tour, sponsored by Irrigation Leader, Municipal Water Leader, and Hydro Leader magazines and operated by Imagine Tours and Travel, LLC. Itinerar y Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. Following passport validation, a representative will assist with transport to Leonardo Plaza Netanya for dinner and overnight stay
Travel to the Caesarea National Park to see the Roman aqueduct and water cistern, proceed to Kibbutz Magal, then visit the Netafim irrigation factory and the Meggido National Park’s ancient water system. Enjoy dinner and overnight stay in Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Drive north to view the two main sources of the Jordan River, the Dan and Banias Rivers, then on to Mt. Bental to see the Golan Heights, the Syrian border, and Mt. Hermon. Enjoy a winery tour and tasting, then return to Tiberias for dinner and overnight stay
4321 Israel Water Education andrade 5 1 2 43 5 6 7 8 9
Begin the day at the National Water Carrier, the system that supplies water to vast regions of the countr y, then travel to Mt. Arbel for an amazing view of the Sea of Galilee. Drive to Mt. Gilboa and Kibbutz Maale Gilboa, where the Gilboa Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Poser Project is located. Proceed to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu for an agriculture bio tour. Drive via the Jordan Valley and the Judean Desert to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight stay. Drive to the Mount of Olives for a beautiful view over the Old City of Jerusalem, then visit the City of David, including the Hezekiah Tunnel. Brave the wet side or opt for the dry as you walk to the Pool of Siloam. Drive on to Armon Hanatziv to see ancient tunnels that brings water from Solomon’s Pool to the Temple. Enter the Old City to see the Western Wall, tunnels, Pool of Bethesda, and the Roman Cardo with its old wells. There will be an option to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher followed by dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.
•licensed English-speaking guide for all transfers and sightseeing days
•eight nights of hotel accommodation
Irrigation Leader, Municipal Water Leader, and Hydro Leader magazines are published by Water Strategies LLC. Participants are strongly recommended to separately secure comprehensive traveler's insurance.
All posted prices, services, and destinations are subject to the terms and conditions of a participant agreement.
•entrance fees for all visits and tours
For more information, please
Serviceshttps://waterstrategies.com/israel-2022visitIncluded
Visit the Israel Museum, which houses the Shrine of the Book, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and a miniature model of Jerusalem from the First Temple period. Drive to Sataf Spring in the Judean Hills to see how the citizens of the city get a few acres to grow their own vegetables and fruits while using an ancient irrigation system that leads water between terraces. Continue on to the Beit Zait Water Reservoir and Dam, followed by dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.
•transfer to/from Ben Gurion Airport
Drive via the Ramon Crater to the Negev Desert Research and Development Center near Ashalim, which specializes in using salty water for agriculture. Proceed to Kibbutz Hatzerim near Beer Sheva, which is the southern branch of the Netafim Irrigation Factory. Continue to a water desalination facility in Ashkelon or Ashdod on the Mediterranean Sea. Enjoy a farewell dinner in Jaffa and then drive to Ben Gurion Airport for a night flight home.
• breakfasts and dinners at hotels and farewell dinner at local restaurant $4,797.00 USD per attendee from Washington Dulles International $4,409.00 USD per attendee without airfare
Trade Tour Preview, Nov. 30–Dec. 10, 2022
•luxury air-conditioned coach
7 Drive to the Einot Zukim Nature Reserve, which features an oasis of freshwater springs, vegetation, and animal life. Then, in the desert next to the Dead Sea, experience the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, where kibbutz members pump water for their mineral water factory. Continue on to the world heritage site of Masada, where participants can walk the snake trail by foot or ascend via cable car to see King Herod’s fortress, an ancient synagogue, a Byzantine church, and a water cistern. Proceed to Ein Bokek for dinner and overnight stay.
6 9 8 Travel through the Arava Desert Valley to the Yair Research and Development Agriculture Center and Center for Modern Desert Farming. Tour greenhouses and the agricultural inventions section, which focuses on the challenges of desert soil and climate. Continue to the ecological Kibbutz of Lotan to see how sandy soil is transformed to yield lush gardens and to hear about organic and permaculture tips that have helped the Center for Creative Ecology treat waste, raise healthy food, and save energy. Proceed to Eliat for a possible desalination facility tour, followed by dinner and overnight stay in the city.
•meeting and assistance at Ben Gurion Airport on arrival
When it comes to making on-farm improvements there must be a compromise made between what would be done if there were unlimited time and money, and the changes that it is practical to make. A North Canterbury farmer is taking on that challenge.
Warwick Croft on his farm, ‘Buckland’.
Making one phaseimprovementsonfarmatatime
Like any farm the location brings challenges. Buckland is home to heavy through to more free-draining soils, high groundwater in some places, and run-off from the adjacent hill. In 2019 Warwick started looking into options to negate nutrient loss. “I wanted to have more control of the losses, and this was made more apparent through our farm environment plan and auditing process … after engaging some outside help it was obvious there were a range of opportunities.”
He said they had put in a mains system to run high pressure guns covering 120 hectares, which they extended five years ago to cover the rest of the farm. More recently they installed a pivot to cover 70 hectares and replace the gun irrigation.
Warwick Croft owns Buckland farm in Cust, which was purchased by his family in the late 1980s. It was originally purchased as a run-off block, used to produce winter supplements for their milk farm in Ohoka and to run replacement stock and bull beef. “We started by deer fencing/subdividing the paddocks, and eventually ran our cattle and also 500 hinds … very different to what the farm system is today, which is dairy grazing and fodder crops for winter grazing.”
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Although Warwick now leases out the farm, he is still involved with the environ mental programme, and more specifically a planting programme which was started three years“We’veago. got to be respectful in the way we farm, and look after our farms. While meeting the farm environment plan requirements was a motivation to start the program I was keen to decrease our farm’s environmental impact.”
Warwick said when they first started farming at Buckland they tried to dig wells for irrigation but had no success. So when the opportunity arose in 2000 to buy shares in the Waimakariri Irrigation Scheme they did not hesitate to take it up. “The climate has just become more and more variable here over the years, and I am pleased we took the opportunity to get water for irrigation when we could.”
Since then, Warwick has made additional stock exclusion, and has created a wetland bio-filter, sediment traps, and a riparian buffer zone. This has not been without challenges.
“The planting isn’t as straightforward as
Above: Warwick Croft next to one of the planted areas. We’ve got to be respectful in the way we farm, and look after our farms. While meeting the farm environment plan requirements was a motivation to start the program I was keen to decrease our farm’s environmental impact.
“The shapes you can see on these images [shown at left] are where I then recommended planting with wet-tolerant species. In particular, a dominant mixture of Carex secta, specifically for its natural de-nitrifying and sediment filtration abilities. This was in order to help achieve a net improvement to the freshwater leaving the farm, and focus efforts where they’d make the most impact. Some water quality test results will certainly be the next step in building the picture of the difference this has made. However, visiting the site and at least seeing evidence of sediment being captured and removed is a good start.”
Dan said one of the key learnings of the process was that a consider able number of the flax specimens failed. “We are still not entirely sure why, possibly because they came from nursery stock from outside of Canterbury. We are currently also collaborating with another landowner nearby who has a large remnant wetland on their property, so there may be opportunities to eco-source from there in future. He has also indi cated that there may be other areas on the property where he would be keen to plant, so we will continue to collaborate with him on that, too.”
The farm is also home to two hectares of sub-surface drip irrigation (SDI) which is driven by Gary Robinson, who leased the farm and also has an SDI business. “It’s great to look at diverse ways of doing things,” Warwick said.
These images show a birds eye digital surface model of the targeted planting area on Warwick’s farm. What may look like a flat paddock to the eye, is quite variable. These images help to determine a better understanding of variables such as how and where surface runoff will move, to target interventions that help protect and enhance freshwater. Here, the change in elevation is shown with red = highest points and blue = lowest points.
Terra Centric landscape architect Dan Cameron has helped Warwick with his planning. Dan said the process for deciding what actions to take was essentially a series of farm visits. The first visit established where the main areas of focus should be, then some recommendations wereDanmade.wanted to look at practical ways to make improvements, so used a drone to generate a basic digital surface model of the farm. This ultimately revealed where to expect the majority of surface run-off would move towards the main waterway.
Gary Robinson who leases the farm from Warwick (right) look at the pivot system.
22 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 it may seem. Unfortunately some of the planting failed due to pest/ bird damage, and with some species not thriving we have found that replanting/perseverance is required to get a desirable outcome.”
Warwick said he had gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the process, and his advice to anyone else on their journey would be targeting what you are doing and weighing up the environmental and financial costs. “I’ve found it is a big commitment, and it is best to do it in stages.” He said they had already fenced off a further larger zone where he planned to plant native species when funds allowed, and attract more native bird life. When it comes to irrigation, Warwick said he was looking forward to seeing what they could achieve with the recently installed pivot, as this summer would be the first irrigation season with a pivot on the property.“We’rehoping it will be a lot more precise with the pivot and moisture probes, as the information from these is available instantly online which isn’t something the guns previously allowed us to do. So it will be great to have more accurate measurements.”
You can help control their spread and reduce the likelihood of something new entering your property by implementing a few simple biosecurity practices: Have one entry point and a sign outlining your requirements
yourProtectingpatch
Stop pests spreading onto your property
Make sure your sign is clearly visible and lets visitors know what to expect when entering your property. Have a designated parking area, and limit visitor numbers to ensure you know who is coming on and off your property and keep a register to allow possible pest sources to be tracked. Implement a clean-on, clean-off policy
Seeds and disease can easily spread onto your property through contaminated mud on vehicles and machinery, clothing, and animals. Have washdown facilities available to remove any soil or plant material before it enters your Facilitiesproperty.should be located away from crops, paddocks, and waterways, and be equipped with a high-pressure hose, a spot to scrub down boots, and bins for disposing cleaning gear. Hold incoming stock in a designated paddock for 24 hours upon arrival Many invasive species, such as yellow bristle grass, produce seeds that can survive in rumen and germinate through dung. Make sure stock is emptied before moving to new paddocks. Source verified seed and feed
Some pest plants to look out for
These pests currently have low distribution numbers in Canterbury but have the potential to spread rapidly. They are expensive to contain and control, reduce pasture quality, and can limit farm income and property values.
For more information about how to keep your farm free from pests and disease, visit ecan.govt.nz/onfarmbiosecurity
If you spot any unusual plant or animal pests, report them through the Find-A-Pest app or by visiting reportpests.nz
Canterbury is being invaded by a host of pest plants that pose a threat to the sustainability of farming in our region. Everyone and everything that enters your property is a potential risk. But there are a few simple steps you can take to keep your property safe from unwanted invaders.
Seeds and plants can spread slowly from property to property, often going undetected. They can be brought on to your farm through vehicles, stock animals and feed. Once these plants arrive on a farm, they can be difficult and expensive to get rid of, rapidly spreading through pasture and affecting its quality.
Getting mud and dirt on your boots, truck and animals can be a real nuisance, but it also poses a serious risk.
It’s important to know where your seed and feed has come from. Ask your supplier about biosecurity measures they have in place, and if buying locally check if they know of any concerning weeds or pests on their property.
Yellow bristle grass Chilean needle grass Saffron thistle
What’s changing, and when?
If you are consented to take 20 litres per second or more of water, you will have to comply with the new rules by 3 September 2022. In Canterbury, that means around 3500 consents will have the new rules applied in September this year.
Any consent to take water at a rate of five litres per second or above granted since 2020 will already have the new rules written as a consent condition, and should already be compliant. All new water use resource consents at this rate or above will also need to comply with the new rules.
The new Essential Freshwater rules state: If you take more than five litres of water per second (l/s), you must measure and record how much water you take in each 15-minute period and report this data back to us daily. Under our current regional rules and current regulations, most resource consent holders already submit water use data to us. But for some, the new regulations mean you will have to measure and report this data more frequently.
Water use across Canterbury As you know, irrigation in Canterbury is big business. More than half of the country’s irrigation water use happens in our region, and as the regulator, Environment Canterbury is responsible for monitoring and compliance. We’re here to help you understand your obligations under the Government’s Essential Freshwater package of policies and regulations, and what they mean for water and land use. You can find our guidance on the Essential Freshwater rules, and what they mean for synthetic fertiliser use, intensive winter grazing, wetland management and more, at ecan.govt.nz/essential-freshwater
In 2020, the Government launched the Essential Freshwater package, a series of policies and regulations outlining what it called “A new national direction to protect and improve our rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands.”
New rules on water metering and reporting come into force on September 3. Here’s what you need to know.
Included in the Essential Freshwater package were the Resource Management (Measurement and Reporting of Water Takes) Amendment Regulations 2020, which changed the requirements for the reporting of water use.
The dates the new rules come into effect varies based on how much water you take.
To manage these changes, we are adapting the way we receive and process this information. We’re working with water data suppliers on how we do this, but as a water user, your responsibility is to make sure you comply with the reporting rules.
Water use reporting –make you’resurecompliant
If your consented rate of take is 10 litres per second or greater, but less than 20 litres per second, you have until 3 September 2024 to comply with these regulations, and if your consented rate of take is five litres per second or greater, but less than 10 litres per second, you have until 3 September 2026.
Where to get help
Compliance checklist
I have a water use meter and telemetry, and I’m recording data at intervals longer than 15 minutes, or not submitting data daily. You will need to change your recording and reporting frequency. Contact your service provider and ask them to make this change.
How to comply with these rules
The easiest way to report water data to us in compliance with the new regulations is to fit an electronic data logger and telemetry unit. You may already have one installed, but you will need to ensure it is recording water use at 15-minute intervals, and submitting data daily.
Congratulations! You’re compliant with the Essential Freshwater rules on the measurement and reporting of water takes.
The following applies to all water use consents issued since 2020, and from September 3 this year, to all water use consents to take 20 litres per second or greater. Your situation What action you need to take I have a water use meter and telemetry, which is recording data every 15 minutes and sending to CanterburyEnvironmentdaily.
For most irrigators, a water service provider will install and maintain this system, and ensure that water use data is submitted on your behalf. However, as the consent holder, it is your responsibility to ensure this happens.
I have a water use meter and telemetry, but I’m not sure how often it is recording or submitting data. You may need to change your recording and reporting frequency. Check with your service provider.
The first and best point of contact for water metering is your service provider. If you don’t have one, Irrigation New Zealand has a “blue tick” list of accredited water meter installers and verifiers on the INZ website: irrigationnz.co.nz Irrigation New Zealand has also published the New Zealand Water Measurement Codes of Practice (updated November 2021), outlining the requirements and good industry practice for the selection, installation, verification and validation of water metering systems.
I have a water meter and I submit data manually. You will need to install a system that automatically reports data to us. Contact your service provider about your options.
We recommend contacting your service provider to check if you are compliant with the new rules, and if not, ensuring they update your system, including the frequency of reporting and telemetry. If your water take is in a remote area without reception, there are other options for telemetry. Your service provider will be able to help you understand your options.
I don’t have a meter on my water take, or I am unsure about whether I have a system. You need to install a meter and telemetry as soon as possible. Contact your service provider about your options.
For more information on the Essential Freshwater rules on water metering, visit ecan.govt.nz/water-metering
Learn more and sign up today at ecan.govt.nz/te-korari
Sign up to our Te Kōrari People’s Panel for your chance to participate in the future direction of Canterbury through short online surveys.
Toitū te marae o Tāne, toitū te marae o Tangaroa, toitū te iwi. ecan.govt.nz
Environment Canterbury Chair Jenny Hughey says she and her fellow Councillors are passionate about engagement with the community and she is happy to see a new avenue for this to occur. “We have a responsibility to raise awareness in the community about our role as a regional council and the work we do. We also need to actively promote and encourage opportunities for our community to participate in council decision-making.
The surveys will provide insights into community attitudes and beliefs and can also be used to test new ideas and promote opportunities to participate. There’s minimal time investment, with most surveys taking only 5-10 minutes to complete. As a People’s Panel member, you can choose which surveys you want to take and there’s no pressure to do anything. You can also opt out at any time.
How it works
When signing up, we encourage you to tell us a bit more about yourself – where you’re from, what your interests are and more. This will help us to ensure our panel represents the voices of Canterbury, and that the surveys we send are relevant to you. Personal information will not be shared, and reports will use information in a way that does not identify you.
Anyone can sign up to Te Kōrari to receive our surveys, which will be used to gain a ‘temperature check’ from the community on a range of topics and issues.
Taking action together to shape a thriving and resilient Canterbury, now and for future generations.
Have your say with the People’s Panel
Surveys will not replace our formal consultations and won’t be used to make important decisions. They may be used ahead of formal consultations to help build understanding and to make sure things are heading in the right direction.
Getting started Signing up only takes a couple of minutes. Visit ecan.govt.nz/te-korari to create a user account and make sure you tick ‘yes’ to sign up to the panel.
The launch of Te Kōrari is just another way we can do this.”
E22/9044
Using an accredited company means your irrigation infrastructure and practice will be efficient, targeted and sustainable.
Farm Dairy Effluent Design accredited companies have the expertise to design and build a dairy effluent system that meets the expectations of regional rules throughout New Zealand.
For best results… look for the tick!
FARM DAIRY EFFLUENT DESIGN ACCREDITATION
23/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022
Designing or upgrading your irrigation or effluent system?
With more emphasis on irrigation efficiency than ever before, choosing an accredited Irrigation Design company is an easy way to ensure that the irrigation system you install today meets both regulatory and industry performance benchmarks.
WATER MEASUREMENT ACCREDITATION
Councils are aiming for national consistency in water metering, measurement and the reporting of water use data. Engaging ‘blue tick’ accredited companies will help ensure work is in line with manufacturers’ specifications, meets industry best practice, and ensures accuracy in the reporting of data back to councils for future decision making.
IRRIGATION DESIGN ACCREDITATION
IrrigationNZ are proud to support our Accredited companies, leading the industry in irrigation design, and product service and delivery. Find a full list of accredited companies at www.irrigationaccreditation.co.nz
Dairy farm effluent was once considered a waste product, now a reliable source of nutrient that enables dairy farmers to reduce their overall nutrient costs.
Accredited Irrigation Design companies have industry trained professionals and excellent product knowledge to ensure that every drop counts.
24 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 Janet Hodgetts has a love for both art and science, and has her own company, SciArt, combining both things. SciArt turns what could be a sheet of data or a lengthy report into a relatable and understandable piece of work. Janet is based in Invercargill and has been involved in many different projects, including illustrating topics to do with water. We caught up with her to find out more about what she does.
Science and art –hand in hand
What is it that you do? How did you come to do it? I started SciArt as a business in 2003, before science communication was really a thing –before it was recognised as a career path in its own right in New Zealand. I have a MSc in Botany and Environmental Education, which is an odd combination, but highlights my dual interests in learning about the natural environment and educating the public about the environment. I have always been able to draw and have loved painting birds and wildlife since I was a kid, so it was a natural progression to teach myself how to create infographics on the computer.
What has been your journey to get here? My science communication journey started at the Department of Conservation Waikato Conservancy office in Hamilton. At that time all of the illustrating I did was by hand –mostly botanical illustrations, but some fauna as well.From there I got a job at Environment Waikato (EW) as an Environmental Editor, working with the science team. The great part of that job was learning how to publish articles on the EW website, back in the days before modern content management systems. I learnt a lot about HTML coding and how
Janet standing next to a mural she painted at a local primary school. the back end of a website functions. I started my own freelancing business in 2003 so that I could make my own hours and be around for my kids. What has some of your work included? My science communication work has been quite diverse – including murals, interpretation panels, display panels, posters, pamphlets, educational resources, giant floor puzzles, a walk-through interactive wetland tunnel, and infographics and report editing for the science teams at Environment Waikato and Environment Southland. The thing about using visuals to communicate science is that I’ve been able to use a variety of mediums to reach a variety of audiences. I moved from the Waikato to Invercargill with my family in 2009, and was lucky enough to meet Chris and Brian Rance at the Southland Community Nursery. Chris has been incredibly supportive of my work over the years, and quite a lot of my artwork features in the education centre run by education-centre).(www.southlandcommunitynursery.org.nz/Chris: Why do you do what you do? Why is it important to you?
25/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022
I guess it’s simply the fact that I’ve never lost a love of learning and exploring, and I always enjoy seeing the ‘light-bulb’ moment when people see an infographic or wellwritten report and things make sense for them. Infographics can be a powerful tool to help convey complex information. I love the challenge of creating something meaningful with a message. How do you make sure the information is understandable but not overly simplified? Science communication is always a careful balance between ensuring the information is credible and robust, while being accessible to the audience it’s intended for. Coming from a science background I have an advantage in understanding how scientists think and approach things. Good science communication takes time and requires a collaborative approach to get the best results. Taking the time to build trust so that potentially years of work won’t be misrepresented is really important. For example, what can seem like a relatively simple info graphic may involve a peer review process with other scientists to ensure every detail is correct.
What are some of the challenges in explaining water-related science? Infographics involving water and flow can be challenging due to the three-dimensional nature of water in the landscape. For example, here in Murihiku/Southland, there are extensive shallow aquifer systems that are highly connected to surface waters (streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands). That connectivity means that groundwater takes for irrigation, for example, can impact flow levels in local streams if not well-managed, which in turn affects aquatic life. Highlighting the importance of balancing conflicting demands for surface and groundwater can be challenging to illustrate. Figure at left (top) shows the flow of groundwater in a shallow unconfined aquifer typical in lowland Murihiku/Southland. Figure at left (lower) illustrates a bore extracting water from a semi-confined aquifer, located below a shallow unconfined aquifer. These illustrations are a reminder that there is much more freshwater under our feet than flowing through rivers in many parts of the region. Where do you see your industry’s future? Science communication has grown as a profession since I started over 20 years ago.
26 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 Its importance today has been highlighted by the work done to educate the public about COVID-19.Intermsof environmental science, science communication is more important now than it has ever been. For example, kids are growing up in a world that looks very different to the world I grew up in. There are many streams, rivers and estuaries where it isn’t safe for swimming or collecting kai moana. That’s normal for modern kids who know no different. As a society we need to value our scientists and industry professionals, value the work they do, and support them to communicate their work. I’m an optimist, and I’d like to believe I have many good years ahead of me working with like-minded people to communicate their science messages as best I can. Do you think water research could be better communicated?
Sea level rise is another looming issue, not just affecting the coastline, but also potential ly impacting the potability of coastal aquifers. I’m not sure the extent and implications of salt water intrusion into coastal aquifers is well understood or communicated. I’d like to see a ‘no surprises’ approach to communication about water resources. This means more transparent and available communication about the state, availability, and management of our nation’s water resources.
The challenge with communicating water research is that water doesn’t conform to human boundaries and silos, and is always on the move. For example, water flowing above and below the land surface is connected; what happens in one part of a catchment affects water in other lower lying parts. We live in a three-dimensional landscape. I think this could be communicated better. Another aspect is the fact that water is a carrier of contaminants. Our nation’s estuaries are like a sink for sediment and contaminants washed down from surrounding catchments. I’m not sure that the message of connectivity has really got through yet.
David Goodman, Partner p: 03 335 1235 m: 027 787 david.goodman@al.nz8785
We have advised on numerous existing and proposed schemes in the North and South Islands and act for individual farmers and agribusinesses.
Sarah Eveleigh, Partner p: 03 335 1217 m: 027 204 sarah.eveleigh@al.nz1479
Our specialist team advises on all aspects associated with large-scale irrigation schemes including banking, capital raising, commercial contract, resource management and construction matters.
Pivotal.
Anderson Lloyd is the trusted legal advisor for major players in New Zealand’s irrigation sector, with a proven ability to deliver results.
private bore or spring water supplies used for drinking water are often not monitored or tested regularly for nitrates. Nitrates occur naturally in the environment but can build up in groundwater if there is too much farm waste or fertiliser used on the land, and it may contribute to environmental and health issues when present at higher levels.
A group of Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS Science) townneeddrinkinglevelslearndrinkingundertakingTheor springs.drinkingthatintestingfree,scientistsgroundwaterareofferingconfidentialnitrateforcommunitiestheNorthlandregionrelyonprivatewaterboresscientistsarearegionalwatersurveytoaboutthenitrateinNorthland’swater,andtheyyourhelp.Unlikewatersupplies,many
NitrateWatch –free nitrate testing for Northland
The programme runs until 31 December 2022.
Dr Karyne Rogers testing water samples as part of the NitrateWatch programme.
The team is interested in testing any drinking water from both registered and unregistered bores for nitrates. All details will be kept confidential between GNS Science and the submitter, except that the nitrate test results and the exact location of bores tested will be anonymised and used to build a publicly available regional nitrate level map and report. The team are particularly keen to help marae, schools, and rural providers who supply drinking water to their community. If you would like your drinking water bore or spring tested for nitrates, you can request a free sampling kit which includes a water bottle, sampling instructions and a postage-paid bag to send the sample for testing. To receive the free kit please send an email with your name and postal address to nitratewatch@gns.cri.nz.
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Dr Karyne Rogers, an environmental scientist at GNS Science who is co-leading the project said “historically there are only a handful of Northland sites regularly monitored for nitrates, so scientists are keen to build a bigger picture of Northland’s nitrates.” There are more than 500 registered drinking water bores in Northland, and probably many more unregistered wells which have no available nitrate data.
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He Waka Eke Noa – an overview Kelly ProgrammeForsterDirector for He Waka Eke Noa, the Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership
The He Waka Eke Noa partnership recom mendations to reduce agricultural emissions have been called everything from “honest and transparent” to “wishful thinking”. The recommendations, presented to the Government in May, are the agreed position of 11 primary sector and Māori agribusiness organisations who are partners in He Waka Eke Noa, including Irrigation New Zealand. The partners consider that the best alterna tive to pricing agricultural emissions through the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is a farm-level split-gas levy with built-in incentives to reduce emissions and sequester carbon, starting from 2025. How did we get here? So how did we get to a point where primary sector organisations are recommending a levy on farmers?Theprocess started back in 2019 when the Government decided to price agricultural emis sions and asked the Interim Climate Change Committee (ICCC) to advise on how this could be done through the NZ ETS. Agricul tural sector leaders didn’t believe the NZ ETS proposal put forward by the ICCC was the best option. Sector leaders proposed that the Government work in partnership with industry and Māori to design an alternative that would achieve better outcomes for New Zealand and the agricultural sector. This proposal was called He Waka Eke Noa (we are in this together) –Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership. This was formally agreed upon in late 2019 by the Government, industry, and Māori.
What happens now? Ministers will make a decision by the end of this year about how to price agricultural emissions. They’ve recently received advice from the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to help inform their decisions.
The CCC’s advice aligns with He Waka Eke Noa’s recommendation that agricultural emissions should be priced at the farm level outside the NZ ETS. However, the CCC takes a different view on recognising on-farm sequestration, and says synthetic nitrogen fertiliser should be levied at the processor level within the NZ ETS as soon as practi cable, rather than being part of a farm-level pricing system. He Waka Eke Noa will continue to put the case for enabling farmers to have control over all the levers that impact their emissions, including sequestration and fertiliser use, so they can take a holistic view across their farm system as they make decisions. You can expect to see and hear more about the issues before final decisions are made. What does it mean on the farm?
Many farmers and growers are already measuring emissions. A recent survey by Manaaki Whenua for the CCC found that approximately half of the respondents calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on their farms, reinforcing He Waka Eke Noa’s own measure that over 60 percent know their numbers. The survey also shows that about half of the respondents agree or strongly agree that farmers should undertake measures to reduce on-farm GHG emissions.
The one thing that is certain is that farmers and growers will be having to pay something from 2025.
Measuring and monitoring farm inputs and outputs is not new for farmers, especially those using irrigation who are already collecting detailed data on water use and impact to inform their manage ment decisions. Measuring and monitoring emissions will be another requirement, but the aim is to use and build on existing data collection wherever possible.
The intent of the He Waka Eke Noa partnership is to help farmers and growers transition to lower-emissions food production while maintaining viable businesses. The partners understand it’s not an easy thing to ask, but it is essential that agriculture plays a fair part in meeting New Zealand’s climate commitments.
However, until decisions are made by the Government, there can be no certainty over impacts or requirements.
The Government has already passed a law saying agricultural emissions will be priced from 2025. The Partnership’s window of opportunity was to come up with a better alternative to the ETS. Simply saying no to any pricing of agricultural emissions was not an option.
He Waka Eke Noa modelled estimated prices to give an indication of potential cost across a range of farms. This showed the impact on average farm profit varies from zero up to 7.2 percent, but there is significant variation across farm systems and some farms may be impacted significantly more than this.
In the meantime, farmers and growers can continue to improve their understanding of their emissions and their options for reducing emissions, and therefore the amount they would have to pay.
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He Waka Eke Noa will continue to put the case for enabling farmers to have control over all the levers that impact their emissions, including sequestration and fertiliser use, so they can take a holistic view across their farm system as they make decisions
What’s on the table? After extensive discussion and consultation with farmers and growers, He Waka Eke Noa recommended a farm-level, split-gas levy from 2025 as part of a broader framework of incentives, guidance, tools, and research to help farmers and growers transition to loweremissions food production. In brief, every eligible farm business would be responsible for reporting their emissions numbers, having a greenhouse gas manage ment plan in place, and paying levies related to the amount of methane and long-lived gasesFarmemitted.businesses would be eligible for incentives for using approved technologies and practices that deliver measurable emissions reductions, such as methane inhibitors and animal genetics, as these become available. They’d also be eligible for a financial offset that recognises the amount of carbon absorbed, or sequestered, by agreed types of vegetation on theirThefarms.money collected in levies will be invested back into the primary sector for the research and development of emissions mitigation technology and practices. It will also contribute to the cost of the system. Levies should be as low as possible to drive emissions reductions and sequestration while minimising impacts on primary sector production and profitability. The partners recommend continuing a partnership approach, with a System Over sight Board with expertise and representation from the primary sector and Māori agribusiness working closely with the government on setting levy rates and directing investment in research.
Nitrogen recycling Do the levels of nitrogen in groundwater used for irrigation implicate the amount of fertiliser that needs to be used?
The Hekeao/Hinds Water Enhancement Trust (HHWET), in collaboration with Environment Canterbury, engaged Agri Magic to undertake case study work to investigate the potential fertiliser savings and implications of irrigating with ground water with high nitrate concentrations. The Hekeao/Hinds catchment is contained within the borders of Mid Canterbury. This farming area is one of the most productive irrigated agricultural districts in New Zealand. Despite on-going improvements in nutrient and irrigation management, the catchment is still facing significant environmental pressures and challenges particularly related to high nitrate concentrations in groundwater. The Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP) includes nitrogen reduction requirements for the Hinds/Hekeao Plains catchment as outlined in Plan Change Two. Excessive nitrate concentrations in groundwater are of concern for human health and for the environment. New Zealand drinking-water standards set a maximum acceptable value (MAV) for nitrate nitrogen at 11.3mg/L, based on the risk to bottle-fed babies (Ministry of Health, 2008), and in line with the WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines (WHO, 2016, 2017). Across the Hekeao/Hinds Plains, irriga tion schemes supply alpine-river water with comparatively low nitrate concentrations, while groundwater irrigators apply relatively high nitrate concentration water. The work undertaken by Stewart and Aitchison-Earl (2020) identified that recirculation of ground water irrigation water in the area inland from Tinwald is likely to be contributing to the high nitrate concentrations in the ground water. This is called “irrigation return flow” or “groundwater recirculation”.
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Nitrogen is essential for life on Earth; it is a component of all proteins and can be found in all living systems. Nitrogen is used within New Zealand farming systems to ensure pasture and crop requirements are met, and to increase pasture production to support grazing systems.
Aside from the environmental and health risks of high nitrates in groundwater, many farmers within the area might be applying unnecessary quantities of fertiliser. As well as reducing the potential for nitrate leaching to groundwater (with the reduction in excess nitrogen) there are economic benefits to reducing fertiliser applications on-farm. Where nitrogen is applied more than plant/ crop requirements, it is at risk of leaching to groundwater if drainage occurs. Dr Brett Painter is the executive director of HHWET and leads other environmental infrastructure projects (e.g., Selwyn Near River Recharge) through Environment Canterbury. HHWET is a community trust tasked with trialling and implementing water enhancement concepts to improve water quality, groundwater levels, and waterway flows in the Hekeao/Hinds catchment in Mid Canterbury. The first five years of the project were funded by a combination of government grants and local funding. From July 1, 2022 the project is fully funded by a targeted rate to Hekeao/Hinds Plains landowners through Environment Canterbury. We asked Brett some questions about the study: Where did the idea to carry out this study come from? Over what timeframe was it carried out? This study was inspired by a 2015 study of the nitrogen recycling potential for
The case study also considered elevated groundwater concentrations of calcium, magnesium and sulphur, and recommended incorporating these into fertiliser calculations as well. What were the key findings on both dairy and arable farms? Significant fertiliser costs savings were assessed for pasture (dairy) and arable farms. For the dairy example the annual savings ranged from $125/ha at 10mg/L nitrate-N to $250/ha at 20mg/L nitrate-N (autumn 2022 fertiliser prices). This equates to $25,000 and $50,000 savings per year, respectively, for an irrigated area of 200 hectares. We worked with a local dairy farmer to trial the assessment and decision-making processes. This identified complexities such as incorporating multiple groundwater sources and irrigator types. For the arable case study, the weighted average annual savings for the case study crop rotation ranged from $73/ha at 10mg/L nitrate-N to $146/ha at 20mg/L nitrate-N ($14,600 to $29,200 per year, respectively, for an irrigated area of 200 hectares). This was less than the pasture example due to different nitrogen requirements and the timing of fertiliser applications. How are the key findings from this study going to help future decision-making and farm management? For groundwater irrigators, the key change is the measurement of nitrate-N and, ideally, calcium, magnesium and sulphur (e.g., via samples sent to a processing laboratory) and the incorporation of this information into fertiliser budgeting. The regularity of groundwater monitoring depends on concentration variability in the groundwater source. For example, how the concentrations respond to rain events and whether there are any longer-term trends. Regions such as Canterbury utilise groundwater nitrate sensors and regular manual monitoring sites to assist with this type of decision-making. Is the nitrate level in groundwater reliable enough to make management changes in fertiliser programmes? Yes, as previously mentioned, knowledge of your groundwater nutrient levels is crucial, but I can see there will be real savings to farmers in their fertiliser spend, along with the reduction in groundwater nutrients.
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What was the purpose of the study? The purpose of the research was to do a case study approach investigating the potential nitrogen fertiliser reductions (and associated cost savings) for two case study farms (one mixed cropping and one dairy) where high nitrate groundwater is used for irrigation.
If you took out the groundwater contribution to the total farm fertiliser requirements, assuming it hasn’t been allowed for previously, could you keep up with pasture production requirements? i.e., has the benefit always been there even if not measured? Will productivity go backwards? Groundwater irrigators who undertake soil/ herbage nitrogen sampling as part of their fertiliser management are likely to already be incorporating their irrigation nitrogen. For groundwater irrigators who are not currently including their irrigation nitrogen, whether the excess nitrogen leaches through to groundwater rather than contributes to additional production will depend on the production capacity of the crop/pasture. AgriMagic (2022). Nitrogen Recycling Case Study. Hekeao/Hinds Water Enhancement Trust. Aqualinc (2015). Nitrogen Recycling from St Leonards Drain Stage 1. Prepared for Canterbury Regional Council, July 2015. Stewart, M & Aitchison-Earl, P (2020). Irrigation return flow causing a nitrate hotspot and denitrification imprints in groundwater at Tinwald, New Zealand. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 24, 3583–3601.
St Leonards Drain irrigators in North Canterbury (Aqualinc, 2015) and a more recent study (Stewart & Aitchison-Earl, 2020) that found recirculating nitrogen from groundwater irrigation as the key driver of high groundwater nitrogen concentrations in part of the catchment. It is not often that a win-win (reduced fertiliser costs and reduced groundwater nitrate concentrations) is identified in water management, so we jumped at the opportunity to create case studies for groundwater irrigators to consider.
Dr Brett Painter. … knowledge of your groundwater nutrient levels is crucial, but I can see there will be real savings to farmers in their fertiliser spend, along with the reduction in groundwater nutrients.
The case studies comprised a local dairy unit within the Hekeao/Hinds catchment and a theoretical arable system that combined common crop rotations with local soil and climate information. A simple equation was used to calculate the likely nitrogen applied (as nitrate-N) through irrigation sourced from high nitrate groundwater in the area. Three concentrations of nitrate-N were used in the work; they were 10mg/L, 15mg/L and 20mg/L (where mg/L = g/m3 = ppm). A standardised irrigated farm area (200 hectares) was used in the case studies to enable estimation of savings for a range of farm sizes and nitrate concentrations.
The purpose of the ISP is to set out how the irrigation will be undertaken to ensure that at least 80 percent of the annual volume of water applied to the irrigable area is retained in the soil in the root zone of the crop, compared to the average gross depth of water applied to the crop. The ISP shall be prepared by a suitably qualified and experienced person and submitted to the Council’s Compliance Manager for written certification that it will achieve the purpose of the ISP. The ISP shall, as a minimum, address:
The New Zealand Certificate in Irrigation System Design and the NZ Certificate of Irrigation Performance assessment are based on industry best practice standards. These courses are aimed at those working within the irrigation industry who want to learn more about the details of good irrigation system design and performance management. Each time I prepare for my role in delivering these courses, I am reminded of the breadth of information that is covered and the level of competence expected of irrigation companies, system owners, and the regulators alike. These courses both kick off with a review of freshwater legislation and the implications of the rules that we need to consider. This includes an understanding of how the new National Policy Statement (NPS) for Freshwater is driving the freshwater farm plan, and inclusion of both freshwater and effluent irrigation practices. The standards are getting tighter and as a result knowledge expectations around irrigation best practice are lifting across the country. Your aim as an irrigator is to use just enough water applied through your equipment to keep your soils at their best moisture content down through the depth of the root zone. Stephen McNally Principal Technical Advisor
For each irrigation area, the ISP should include:
The evidence of continued climate change and extreme events placing demands on soil moisture management is confronting for us all. Regardless of the strength or practi calities of regulations, we must as an industry keep our eye on water resource use efficiency and how that helps us meet farm business, environmental, and community expectations.
21 The Consent Holder shall not exercise this consent until the ISP required by Condition 20 has been certified by the Council’s Compliance Manager.
TECHNICAL MATTERS
22 The ISP certified in accordance with Condition 21 shall be implemented prior to the first irrigation season, unless a later date has been approved in writing by the Council’s Compliance Manager.
CommissioningIrrigationNZ an irrigation system – the first step of continuous improvement
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• Subsurface drainage; and
There is no denying that water is fundamental to just about every aspect of the process of growing food and fibre for our New Zealand and international consumers. We either have too much water where and when we don’t want it, or we face long dry summers where security of access to water for irrigation is critical.Inmy
Standard efficiency consent conditions from Northland Regional Council Water Use Efficiency 20 The Consent Holder shall prepare an Irrigation Scheduling Plan (ISP) that outlines how irrigation decisions will be made.
(a) A description of how water requirements for each irrigation cycle are calculated; (b) Method(s) for assessing current soil moisture levels; (c) Method(s) for assessing potential evapotranspiration (PET) and rainfall to date; (d) Soil moisture target to be maintained in each zone by irrigation; (e) How measured data will be used to assess irrigation requirements over the next irrigation cycle; and (f) A description of proposed method(s) for remaining within consent limits at each borehole or group of boreholes.
role with IrrigationNZ I deal with many aspects of freshwater policy, regulations, and technology innovations, all intertwined with the role of water in the primary industries.
• Water balance and crop water requirements;
• Overall irrigation strategy.
Commissioning verifies that the system is complete to the required workmanship standards, is safe to operate, and is ready to perform as per the designer’s and operator’s system performance expectations, over the range of on-site conditions expected.
Key modules of the Irrigation System Design and Performance Assessment courses cover the skills necessary to undertake testing and commissioning of an irrigation system. A commissioning process will demonstrate that the completed system has been built as proposed and that it will perform to the planned Key Performance Indicators. The designer is expected to complete the necessary documentation of critical operation and maintenance features which is used to train the operator and sets the basis of on-going performance measurement.
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The goal of a commissioning plan for an irrigation project includes:
The commissioning report is therefore a vital piece of farm system management information. Each component of the irrigation system, from source to the soil, presents opportunities for precision and efficiency, or the opposite if things are not working according to the way it was commissioned. If your system is not designed, installed, and commissioned by suitably qualified and accredited practitioners to the best available practice standards you risk not gaining the most from the water, energy, labour, and money committed to your irrigation development.
From IrrigationNZ’s Code of Practice for Design:
From IrrigationNZ’s Code of Practice for Design:
• Minimising start-up failures and future replacements.
• This document will describe final system composition and what it will be capable of achieving.
• A specification report and plan summarising final system performance indicators must be provided to the purchaser.
Having intimate knowledge of the way your system operates gives you the confidence to make good decisions on water use, minimising volumes extracted and improving plant growth.
• It will be completed in sufficient detail so that quotations for supply and installation of system may be obtained.
A well-designed, installed, and fully commissioned system with sufficient documentation of all critical performance criteria is a minimum standard expected within the industry.
Of all the aspects that can affect your system precision, uniformity of application is one of the most significant and it is relatively easy to haveWhattested.you may have been confident of through intuition may not be quite as you thought, especially as you gain an understanding of the data and analysis relating to soil moisture through the root profile.
Train yourself and your staff, attend courses, get some qualifications under your belt, and look to gather knowledge from the experts available to you. Then share your experiences so others can see the benefit of a good system commissioning process to their own situation.
There is a lot of clever technology appearing in the market that can measure and monitor many parts of your irrigation processes, including your water take volumes, power consumption, and soil moisture levels. There are services that look at weather patterns in your district.
The linkage between what water you have consent to use and the water needed in the soil root zone is your irrigation equipment; the pumps, filters, pipes, and emitters, whether those are pivot irrigators or under tree sprinklers.
• Undertaking a well-planned and complete commissioning process that examines full operating ranges of the system to ensure compliant functioning of all systems and sub-systems.
• Clarifying hand over from installer to operator.
• Completion of a well-documented and operational system.
The freshwater farm plan regulations are expected by the end of the year and will be phased in from 2023, to be introduced in three or four regions at a time. You’ll be advised by your regional council if and when you need to start thinking about your fresh water farm plan. In the meantime, keep using your existing farm or environment management plan, and continue to focus on minimising any environmental effects from farming activities.
They are needed to ensure freshwater, and the freshwater environment, are protected and improved, and to give effect to Te Mana o Te Wai. We want to support primary producers to demonstrate their environmental credentials to global markets. Over time, freshwater farm plans should increasingly be relied on, reducing the need for consents and hard and fast rules. A farm must have a freshwater farm plan if it has:
Freshwater farm plans (FWFPs) are a key part of the Essential Freshwater reforms, introduced by the Government in 2020. There has been an ongoing effort from the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries to work collaboratively with all parties who have an interest in fresh water farm plans to develop and put in place an effective and practical system. Public consultation on freshwater farm plan implementation happened last year (from July until October), resulting in 172 submissions.
Why are freshwater farm plans needed?
• 5 hectares or more in horticultural use, • 20 hectares or more in pastoral use,
• 20 hectares or more in any combination of any two or three of the above land uses. Ministry Environment
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• 20 hectares or more in arable use,
Virginia ManagerLoughnanClimateand Water Agriculture
Freshwater farm plans –what’s happening and when
They will provide a practical way to identify, manage, and reduce the impact of farming on the freshwater environment. They will complement council rules and existing tools (such as resource consents), and should reduce regulatory burdens. Freshwater farm plans are about more than implementing good practices –each plan will need to link to the catchment context as well as aligning with regional policies, rules, and/or limits.
for
What are freshwater farm plans?
Preparing for new dam safety requirements
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When will I need to have a freshwater farm plan? This will depend on your region. We are work ing with regional councils on which areas and catchments should be prioritised. Phasing in of the requirements will be between 2023 and 2025, depending on the relevant start date of the regulations in applicable regions, noting full implementation will be beyond 2025. A draft plan for when the regulations will first apply in each region will be released within a couple of months.
How are freshwater farm plans more flexible than previous regulations? They are a risk-based and tailored approach to mitigate the impacts of farming on freshwater. Instead of applying blanket rules that are difficult to implement, risk-based mitigation will be practical and effective. Freshwater farm plans will align with council regional plans and will be able to be used to demonstrate compliance. How long will people get to comply? This is yet to be confirmed, and it will depend on when the regulations are turned on within each region. Will my farm or personal information be made public? How will it be recorded? The FWFP will be for the farmers to own. Certifiers and auditors will be required to submit relevant data to the regional council to demonstrate plans have been certified and audited. How much effort/time are people expected to spend? Like other current regulated farm plan pro grammes, this will vary depending on farm size, system, and environmental risk of the specific farm/catchment. What information will people need to complete one? Regulations are yet to be confirmed, and they will specify. It will be things such as: maps, biophysical info, farm system type, risk assess ment (understanding risks to freshwater), and identified action plans. All will be supported by guidance, frameworks, regional council support, and upskilling of wider advisory services, etc.
Contribution from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Until recently, Aotearoa New Zealand was one of the few countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which did not have a consistent regulatory dam safety framework. In May 2022, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) announced the new Building (Dam Safety) Regulations 2022 (the regulations) which will provide a nationally consistent approach to dam safety. The regulations can be found on the New Zealand Legislation website (www.legislation.govt.nz).
From May 13 2024, owners of dams that meet the height and volume requirements specified in the regulations will need to become familiar with their responsibilities under the Building Act 2004 and the regulations. They will also need to become familiar with the actions they must take, and by when. To prepare for these incoming dam safety requirements, MBIE has developed resources to help dam owners understand and prepare for theirTheresponsibilities.resourcesavailable on MBIE’s building.govt.nz website include an online learning module and a guidance document. MBIE released a resource in early July 2022 to help dam owners calculate the height and volume of their dam, so they can understand if their dam is big enough to be impacted by the regulations. This resource will be followed by an online tool towards the end of 2022. It is likely that most small farm dams will be excluded from the regulations, as they are unlikely to meet the minimum height and volume thresholds. MBIE will also develop educational videos and run webinars which will provide an opportunity for dam owners, technical practitioners, and regional authorities to better understand their responsibilities, and to ask questions. The resources for dam owners can be found on the Building Performance website: www.building.govt.nz/dam-safety Dam in a vineyard, Wairarapa.
The Labour Government has set an ambitious goal to see a noticeable improvement in freshwater quality in five years by: • stopping further degradation • showing material improvements within five years • reversing past damage within a generation so that all New Zealand’s waterways are in a healthy state.
• ensuring that practice on-farm is improving to reduce contamination
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TE MANA O TE WAI Central to the Essential Freshwater policy, practices and decision-making is Te Mana o te Wai, which guides the settings of a system for managing and protecting our waterways for future generations. Te Mana o te Wai refers to the fundamental value of water and the importance of prioritising the health and wellbeing of water before providing for human needs and wants. It expresses New Zealanders’ special connection with freshwater. This framework impacts regulation around irrigated food production. When Te Mana o te Wai is upheld, the future wellbeing of our people and our unique ecosystems is protected. This does not mean all rivers and lakes have to return to a natural, pristine state, but it does mean being respectful about how much water we take, and careful with the types of contaminants that we let go into the water.
• thinking differently about urban development, such as using watersensitive design to reduce stormwater contamination, and ongoing investment in upgrading wastewater networks to reduce overflows.
Kingi KāhuiChairmanSmilerWaiMāori
WATER IS AT THE HEART OF OUR NATION’S WELLBEING
Living in harmony with the land we farm, the water we use, and the environment that surrounds and sustains us is important for our own good health and wellbeing. For decades, tangata whenua throughout the country have strongly advocated to central and local governments the need to reform water-related law and policy for a better system of care and respect for water in Aotearoa. This article looks at developments in this area, particularly the Essential Freshwater policy and freshwater farm plans.
• protecting wetlands
Te Mana o te Wai includes two sets of values that are required to be given effect. The first set of values are ideas New Zealanders are relatively familiar with; good governance, stewardship, and care and respect for water. The second set are Māori values, and they
New Zealanders value their natural environment, and being outdoors is part of our national identity. We spend a lot of time in and around water, so as well as having clean water to drink we want clean water for our children and grandchildren to play in. Unfortunately, we cannot rely on our nearest river or lake being healthy. Dr Mahina-a-rangi Baker, a Kāhui Wai Māori member who specialises in environmental planning and science, has noted to me that it is about lifting the standard of how we care for freshwater. She says that, in practice, ensuring the lifesupporting capacity of water means taking steps such as:
• being more conscious in our decisionmaking about freshwater
The Environmental Aotearoa Report of 2019 showed that the way we live and make a living is having a serious impact on our environment. For the Government, this has meant putting the state of the environment at the centre of the reforms that were needed.
A vision to improve freshwater quality
• allowing fish passage up and down catchments
GIVING EFFECT TO TE MANA O TE WAI Giving effect to Te Mana o te Wai requires leadership by all – central government, local government, tangata whenua, marae, papakainga, local communities, businesses, farmers, growers, irrigation schemes, families, and individuals – all working together to set a long-term vision and plans and actions to restore our waterways. The key policy, legislative, and regulatory tools to achieve this are:
37/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 are: mana whakahaere (the way that tangata whenua wish to govern the use of land and water), kaitiakitanga (unique practices around the care and protection of taonga or treasures, which include water), and manaakitanga (our own cultural philosophy around sharing, equity and reciprocity). Te Mana o te Wai is a truly bicultural framework.
• sets target attribute states, flows, and levels for water bodies
The other important part of NPS-FM 2020 for Te Mana o te Wai is the National Objectives Framework, commonly referred to as the NOF, which requires that every regional council:
• identifies values for each freshwater management unit in its region
1. National Policy Statement – Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) 2020 (Longer term – driver for generational change) 2. New freshwater planning processes under the Resource Management Act and Freshwater Commissioners
• takes steps if deterioration is detected.
A compulsory value in the NOF is mahinga kai, which is one of the four compulsory values in the NPS-FM 2020. The others are; ecosystem health (e.g. water quality, habitat and aquatic life), human contact (swimming, waka, boating, fishing and water skiing),
3. National Environmental Standards –Freshwater 4. Stock Exclusion Regulations 5. Freshwater farm plans under Part 9A of the Resource Management Act. This looks all very complex, and it is. Industry representatives have an important part to play in helping farmers and growers navigate through these changes, and to support the continuation and development of new farm ing practices. For example, IrrigationNZ has represented and continues to represent our member’s interests in the consultation and collaboration processes in many of the above regulatory and legislative activities coming from MfE and others. Farming is a way of life in New Zealand. Being prepared to adapt and find new ways to farm and grow food will protect not only our businesses but also our environment. Increasingly, consumers want products that are better for them and as well as for the environment. REGIONAL COUNCILS Every regional council must include an objective in its regional policy statement that describes how the management of freshwater in the region will give effect to Te Mana o te Wai. For regional plan development, regional councils must include the two sets of values, actively involve tangata whenua and the community in freshwater management decisions and processes, and identify longterm visions for improved environmental outcomes in their regions.
• monitors water bodies and freshwater ecosystems
• develops (e.g. limits specifiedinterventionsin rules or action plans) to achieve the target attribute states, flows, and levels
Harrison)LynofCourtesy(Photo:
Central to the Essential Freshwater policy, practices, and decision-making is Te Mana o te Wai, which guides the settings of a system for managing and protecting our waterways for future generations.
• Ecosystem health
The protection and restoration of mahinga kai habitats to enable access to abundant and healthy mahinga kai is a feature of the NPS FM.2020. (Photo: Courtesy of Lyn Harrison) Te Mana o te Wai is a bicultural framework that provides for Māori participation and partnership based on the principle of Mana Whakahaere
The local sites or places where mahinga kai is found give a real-time indication of the overall health of the waterway. For the mahinga kai value, it is simple – kai must be safe to harvest and eat. Mahinga kai is a value which is important to Māori, but it is not unique to Māori. All families and communities seek to be able to safely access our rivers and streams, whether it is for recreational, swimming, or foodgathering purposes.
TANGATA WHENUA Te Mana o te Wai is a bicultural framework that provides for Māori participation and partnership based on the principle of Mana Whakahaere. This is about those who have ‘authority’ at a place, and how they wish their lands and water to be managed. In this con text, Mana Whakahaere refers to hapū, ahi kā (Māori landowners), marae, and iwi. It will be the responsibility of regional councils to give effect to the principle of Mana Whakahaere, and reflect the vision and values (including mahinga kai) in policies, regulations, and rules. Mana Whakahaere groups are likely to form at the catchment level. The opportunity exists for collaboration with catchment groups, bringing together two sets of values to protect the life-supporting capacity of water.
• Farm practice that minimises and mitigates the impacts of farming practices on the environment
• The wider catchment context. IrrigationNZ has been involved in stakeholder consultation processes for freshwater farm plans. We emphasised the need for these plans to be individualised for different geographical contexts around Aotearoa. We also added that freshwater farm plans should build on the work that farmers already have in place as farm management tools, rather than starting from‘Catchmentscratch. context’ reflects that not all issues and values that communities have for a catchment are the same. Regional council plans to give effect to the NPS-FM 2020, including Te Mana o te Wai, will provide this context. As part of this, limits will be set to manage issues in particular catchments. For example, it will vary as to whether there needs to be a focus on the better management of sediment, E. coli, nitrogen, and/or biological contamination. Tuna (eel), a taonga species for Māori.
38 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 and threatened species (support for the critical habitats, survival and the recovery of threatenedMahingaspecies).kaiisabout freshwater species that have traditionally been used as food or other resources by Māori. It is about: • the local places where those species are found and the act of catching or gathering them • the practice of providing food for our whānau, marae, and communities • those traditional sources of kai that Māori have been deprived of as a result of the degradation of our waterways.
FRESHWATER FARM PLANS –THE ROLE OF FARMERS AND GROWERS How can irrigated food producers play their part in giving effect to Te Mana o te Wai? While regional councils are responsible for giving effect to this and setting the values in regional plans which assess risks and highlight the priorities to be addressed, the freshwater farm plans are a further step in the Essential Freshwater package. The freshwater farm plans provide a practical way for farmers, including irrigated farmers, to comply with the new reforms. The plans will be used to identify and document the risks of farming practices on the environ ment and waterways, and set out a plan of actions about how to mitigate these. Every freshwater farm plan must demon strate how they will achieve three outcomes:
TIMELINES
39/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022
The evidence is there that action by each individual farm, when aggregated, will result in environmental gains. This has been demonstrated by the Horizons Council over the last seven years, where just by implementing the known mitigations for reducing sediment, there has been an improvement in their waterways by one whole grade of sediment. Over time, the Ministry for the Environ ment and the Ministry for Primary Industries intend that freshwater farm plans will be a module of an integrated farm planning approach. This will bring together all aspects of the farming operation – people manage ment, biosecurity, animal welfare, GHGs, and freshwater.
The Ministry for the Environment has put out plenty of information on all of this. Their material on freshwater farm plans and the webinar available on their website, featuring its Chief Advisor, Bryan Smith, is well worth taking an hour to view. The Ministry for the Environment’s consultation on freshwater farm plans con cluded on 7 October 2021. The Ministry is considering all submissions and will be continuing to work with tangata whenua, sector organisations, and leaders on the options for the freshwater farm plan regula tions. The Ministry has advised that these regulations are expected to take effect in the second half of 2022, with a phased roll-out. IrrigationNZ plans to watch for this consultation process and prepare a submission representing our membership.
The requirement to reflect catchment context in a freshwater farm plan avoids a one-size-fits-all answer, which farmers and growers know does not work. It means that the plans will be fit-for-purpose and should build on what farmers already do. Where there are high environmental risks, it is likely that there will be a practice standard that all farmers need to use (e.g. intensive winter grazing and stock exclusion). Freshwater farm plans offer farmers, growers (including irrigated farmers), advisors, and the farm certifiers of the plan the opportunity to provide farmer-led solutions, provided they address and mitigate the risks to the waterways and the environment. There will be a requirement for freshwater farm plans to periodically be independently audited. The primary sector has already taken a leadership role in farm planning. I know from my own experience as Chairman of Miraka, and the implementation of Te Ara Miraka (an integrated sustainable farming practice system), that there is a willingness from most of our farmers and irrigation schemes to engage, innovate, and seek to achieve the highest standards of farming and environmental practices. Making sure that farm system changes are pragmatic, fit-forpurpose, and cost-effective for farmers and growers is key to bedding in practice change. We hear from the Government and the Ministry for the Environment that existing farm planning programmes, such as IrrigationNZ’s codes of practice, which many farmers and growers are already a part of, will be given a pathway to be able to adapt and evolve to meet the new legislative and regulatory requirements.
The author is grateful for the resources produced by Kāhui Wai Māori on Te Mana o te Wai, featuring Dr Mahina-a-rangi Baker and Annette Sykes. Also, to the Ministry for the Environment for their resources and webinars.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FURTHER INFORMATION To view a video of Te Mana o te Wai see: Te Mana o te Wai Introduction and Overview at: environment.govt.nz/te mana-o-te-wai-
IrrigationNZ has been in regular meetings with regional councils on how they are working through the plan notification process. We are also discussing the challenges they are facing and offering our expertise where possible.Farmers,growers, and irrigation schemes are a critical part of local communities and of rural New Zealand. It will be important for them to be active participants in regional council engagement, consultation, and hear ing processes on the regional policy state ments and plans.
EMBRACING THE CONCEPT OF FRESHWATER FARM PLANS
implementation Kingi Smiler is Chairman of Kāhui Wai Māori, a group of Māori experts appointed by the Minister for the Environment in 2018 to provide advice to the Government on their Essential Freshwater Programme. Email: Theinfo@wairarapamoana.org.nzevidenceistherethataction by each individual farm, when aggregated, will result in environmental gains. Adapted by IrrigationNZ after original publishing in the The Journal, of the NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management.
Regional councils have until the end of 2024 to have in place new regional policy state ments and regional plans that implement NPS-FM 2020 and Te Mana o te Wai. That means the first generation of freshwater farm plans will be based on existing regional council policy statements, plans, and rules.
A JOINT EFFORT Te Mana o te Wai reinforces our connection between our environment and our wellbeing, and we must work within the limits of our water, land, and environment. Success requires everyone play their part. He waka eke noa – we’re all in this together.
• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (65 percent chance). More northeasterly winds may transport unseasonable warmth and humidity toward the region from time to time.
Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty
• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance).
Rainfall is about equally likely to be near normal or below normal in the west of the North Island, about equally likely to be near normal or above normal in the east of the South Island, and most likely to be near normal in all other regions. Overall, this is a shift towards drier conditions relative to previous outlooks.
Temperatures are very likely to be warmer than average in the north and west of both islands and most likely to be warmer than average in the east of bothWarmerislands.than average sea temperatures are expected to continue to buffer the country from long-duration cold. Around New Zealand, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) ranged from 0.5˚C to 1.3˚C above average during July, a decrease compared to June. SSTs are forecast to remain above average into spring, which will have an upward influence on air temperatures. Soil moisture levels and river flows currently range from normal to well above normal across the country due to heavy July rainfall. This has contributed to substantial groundwater recharge and a replenishment of water storages. The expectation over the next three months is for a return to near normal soil moisture and river flow conditions across the country.
REGIONAL PREDICTIONS
August–October 2022
OUTLOOK SUMMARY
Very strong trade winds in the equatorial Pacific led to a cooling of sub-surface ocean temperatures during July. This will very likely lead to a re-strengthening of La Niña conditions in the coming months. The potential for more anticyclones near the country, owing to La Niña, may lead to warmer temperatures, sunshine, and fewer westerly winds than normal during spring. This may be associated with an increase in dry spells during the period, particularly in the west of both islands. This pattern could limit the number of southerly fronts but also allow low pressure systems to track towards the country from the northwest from time to time – such systems caused heavy rainfall and flooding during July.
• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). Sub-tropical low pressure systems may occasionally track toward the region, increasing the risk for heavy rain. Conversely, more easterly winds could lead to dry spells, particularly in the south-west of the region, such as Waikato.
Seasonal climate outlook
40 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022
• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance).
• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (65 percent chance). More northeasterly winds may cause periods of increased sunshine and warmer temperatures.
• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). Several heavy fronts are likely during the first week of August. Fewer westerly winds during spring may lead to dry spells.
Probabilities (or percent chances) are assigned in three categories: above average, near average, and below average. In the absence of any forecast guidance there would be an equal likelihood (33 percent chance) of the outcome being in any one of the three categories.
Forecast information from local and global guidance models is used to indicate the deviation from equal chance expected for the coming three-month period.
• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40 percent chance) or below normal (35 percent chance). Fewer spring westerlies may increase the risk for dry spells.
• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance).
• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (60 percent chance). More northeasterly winds may transport sub-tropical warmth toward the region from time to time.
West Coast, Alps and foothills, inland Otago, Southland
This is an extract of the Seasonal Climate Outlook published by NIWA.
• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (60 percent chance). More northeasterly winds may cause periods of increased sunshine and warmer temperatures.
Coastal Canterbury, east Otago
Central North Island, Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu, Wellington
Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough, Buller
Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa
• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). The potential for more frequent onshore winds during spring could lead to more wet days. Sub-tropical low pressure systems may occasionally track toward the region, increasing the risk for heavy rain, particularly in the northern part of the region, such as Gisborne.
• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be near normal (45–50 percent chance).
• Rainfall is most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). Fewer westerly winds during spring may lead to dry spells, particularly in western parts of the region like Tasman and Buller.
• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance).
• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance).
41/IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022
• Temperatures are most likely to be above average (55 percent chance). More northeasterly winds may lead to higher humidity levels, more cloud cover, and warmer overnight temperatures.
• Temperatures are most likely to be above average (55 percent chance). More northeasterly winds may lead to more cloud cover and warmer overnight temperatures.
• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40 percent chance) or above normal (35 percent chance). Several heavy fronts are likely in the High Country during the first week of August.
The potential for more frequent onshore winds during spring could lead to more wet days.
42 / IrrigationNZ News Winter 2022 aGlobalverage NZ We’re very e cient compared to other countries NZ sheep and beef production’s carbon footprint per kilo is estimated to be around half the average figure globally Graphics courtesy of Beef + Lamb NZ. For data sources and references makingmeatbetter.nz/referencesvisit makingmeatbetter.nz Land4mhause The NZ sheep and beef sector is using 4 million hectares less land than 30 years ago On average, NZ sheep and beef farms leach far lower levels of nitrogen into waterways than other food producing systems DID YOU KNOW?
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