IrrigationNZ News Autumn 2023

REGULAR FEATURES

4 FROM THE CHAIR / Keri Johnston

5 FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE / Vanessa Winning

7 OUT & ABOUT

8 VIEW FROM HERE / Simon Court, ACT MP

10 VIEW FROM THERE / Gert Sterenborg, Netherlands

22 FMG / Plan for spring winds

27 TECHNICAL MATTERS / Technical and policy update

38 SEASONAL CLIMATE OUTLOOK

42 DID YOU KNOW? / Irrigation by system type

FEATURES

12 COVER STORY / Extreme weather and becoming more resilient

16 New Zealand’s digital connectivity strategy and its importance to farm management

20 WAI DESIGN / Creating amazing places and green spaces

23 Drought forecasting tool 26 Dam safety requirements

31 The importance of pressure readings

32 Measuring real-time nitrogen loss in cropping

36 DR HELEN RUTTER / Drinking water supply rules explained

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 Looking towards Napier, February 2023, photo taken by Sajith Muraleedharan. 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

Keri Johnston Chair of IrrigationNZ

Taking action in a year of challenges and changes

Ngā mihi o te tau hou, 2023 has started off with a hiss and roar –a new Prime Minister, massive flooding in Auckland, Cyclone Gabrielle causing massive destruction and loss of life in the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne areas, submissions on the Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Bills – and all of this in just the first two months of the year. I believe that the tone has been set for the year.

It is, after all, an election year, and the date has now been set – October 14th.

IrrigationNZ will soon begin preparation of its election manifesto. This may seem odd to many of our readers, but in an election year political parties are preparing policies on the big issues with the aim of swaying voters to put a tick in their box. Therefore election year is a chance for advocacy organisations such as ours to inform and influence all

political parties on the issues that affect us. An election manifesto is one of the tools we use to do that.

The Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Bills are of significant interest to IrrigationNZ. How resources such as water are allocated and consent duration are canvased in the current drafting of the bills.

Vanessa and the IrrigationNZ team, with the support of Anderson Lloyd and input from members, have been drafting our submission on this massively important legislation. I am truly grateful for the assistance of Anderson Lloyd on this.

Something to keep an eye out for are the details of a study tour. Our last study tour to Nebraska in 2018 was a blast, with a huge amount learnt and fantastic connections made. Work has begun on the organisation

of a 2023 study tour. These tours are an amazing opportunity to see what other countries are up to technology-wise, and to meet with their policymakers and regulators to discuss approaches to water-related issues that we share. So, watch this space for further information.

The recent catastrophic weather events highlight the fragility of being a country built upon fault lines and floodplains. The impacts of these events will be felt far and wide for a long time to come. Fruit and vegetable production has been lost, there is serious damage to critical infrastructure, communities are displaced, homes destroyed, and there has been a tragic loss of lives.

Our thoughts are with those affected, along with best wishes for the region’s recovery.

Ngā mihi, Keri

Vanessa Winning Chief Executive IrrigationNZ

Election 2023 – land, water, and infrastructure policies

Summer is over, and while some of you were facing some very dry conditions, in some places summer didn’t really make an appearance. As we move into autumn, while undergoing massive clean-ups across the North Island, you may now wonder where the seasons start and stop.

There is no question that the climate has changed. There is no question that society has an impact. While New Zealand is small on the international scale, in terms of impact, we will be hugely impacted. So let’s stop pointing the finger at which industries need to improve, and stop reinforcing the urbanrural divide by creating winners and losers of climate polluters. Let’s stop the politics, and work together to adapt. Let’s build this country to better withstand the changing seasons and climatic events.

This election year is one that will be fraught with identity politics, personality clashes, and partisan attacks. Lost in all that may be the thing that matters most; land, water, and infrastructure policies, and the ability to get those policies through and make them work. I urge you all to look at the policies and the team tasked with bringing them to fruition, and ask yourself who is going to best manage these significant generational issues for our country. Don’t be swayed by a charismatic personality or a good turn of phrase. Be swayed by strategic intent, investment in our prosperity, and policies that give a hand up and that ensure no one goes hungry in a country with an abundance of food. Look at the past, who achieved what they set out to, and who listened to advice

and removed roadblocks in creating a future from which we can all benefit.

Climate change adaptation needs to stop being kicked into touch. It needs sound strategic intent and a positive plan that includes managed retreat and relocation, resilience to climate change, and investment in infrastructure that improves lives and livelihoods. And it needs to be bipartisan and for all New Zealanders. We want the public and the finance community to invest in projects to support the strategy, removing the need to rely on government or single industries alone. To be able to do this, there needs to be an economic, as well as environmental and social, return. It needs to benefit the whole community and create resilience against the type of destruction we have experienced this summer and will continue to experience more frequently.

Water is key to any adaptation strategy, as is a robust plan for infrastructure development. Key to this plan must be good planning frameworks, enabling law, investment pathways, and certainty provided through bipartisan agreements. I urge our governments now and in the future to put aside party politics and start thinking strategically about the long term. Work together to support New Zealand’s future so that the next cyclone or other emergency, which is inevitable, can be better managed and the need for clean up greatly reduced.

IrrigationNZ will be advocating for such policies on behalf of our current and future members. We recently made submissions on the resource management reforms. We will

keep making submissions on development and investment in quality capture, storage, and distribution projects, as well as on improvements in water use. We will keep you updated and informed of our positions and regularly seek your opinions. I urge all members to get to know your local politicians, across all parties, and learn about what their policies and credibility deliver. We have a generational issue we need to solve and we need the best people to do that. Don’t be afraid of getting involved and constructively educating others on the importance of the role that irrigation plays in our future.

IrrigationNZ: Out & About

Certificate III in Irrigation Technology

The second week-long block course for Certificate III in Irrigation Technology took place in Ashburton in the last week of January. Participants spent another week honing their irrigation skills. Along with tutor Stuart, they had the help of “Gary”, brought in to help them develop their skills in teamwork, process improvement, and efficiency gains.

For more information on Certificate III in Irrigation Technology, including future intakes, please visit our website www.irrigationz.co.nz

IrrigationNZ proposes

Water Minister at National’s Bluegreens conference

Vanessa Winning attended the National party’s Bluegreens conference in Blenheim on Saturday 25 February. There non-government organisations (NGOs) and others were asked to pitch policy ideas. IrrigationNZ along with four NGOs and Energy Resources Aotearoa pitched ideas that had economic and environmental impacts. IrrigationNZ suggested that there be a Minister for Water, to bring together water policies and regulations and reduce their cost and possible departmental overlaps.

Photo at left: At the conference (from left) Vanessa Winning, National MP Chris Bishop, opposition spokesman responsible for Resource Management Act Nicky Hislop (Beef and Lamb, and previous IrrigationNZ Board Member), and Ruth Lavelle Treacy (Director at Spear Communications).

Photo above: Industry specialist Peter Madden from Hunter Industries talks to the group.

Photo at left: Sumaya Mir of Southern Water Engineering and Beej Singh of Plains Irrigators get to grips with designing and building “Gary”.

Improved planning to support a prospering food and fibre sector

Second to people, New Zealand’s most precious resource is the land and natural environment. There’s a reason why New Zealand growers and producers are globally recognised for creating premium products within better environmental limits than other countries.

The food and fibre sector is essential to New Zealand’s prosperity. It is forecast to generate $55 billion in export revenue this year alone, and accounts for 81.4 percent of trade. Despite this significance, many aspects of the industry are held back by planning laws that aren’t fit for purpose.

It’s widely accepted now that the Resource Management Act (RMA) is outdated and ineffective. Not only does it fail to protect the environment, but it is costly to the economy. There was a rare bout of consensus found in Parliament when parties agreed that it needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, the Government’s replacement has arrived and instead of fixing the problems of the past it doubles down on them.

The Natural and Built Environment Bill proposed by Labour is a reflection of Labour’s desire for centralised state planning instead of local decision-making. It tasks the Ministry for the Environment with writing a National Planning Framework that will take precedence over any local plans. The faith in bureaucratic planning is reinforced by an explicit prohibition on market mechanisms for allocating freshwater. For users of natural resources such as irrigation schemes, this will mean jumping through more hoops and being more reliant than ever on Wellington

bureaucrats to get anything done. The barriers already faced under the RMA will be far worse.

The bill’s overarching principle is Te Oranga o te Taiao – “the interconnectedness of all parts of the environment” and “the intrinsic relationship between iwi and hapū and te Taiao”. The problem with defining legislation on such loosely defined concepts is that it creates the possibility of the consenting process becoming a legal playground for lawyers, judges and iwi. The real winners will be those collecting the legal fees.

Clearly the current approach to regulating land and water use, funding infrastructure growth, and conserving native flora and fauna is outdated, ineffective, and unlikely to improve with the current Government’s proposals. ACT has an entirely different approach.

ACT has released its own detailed replacement for the RMA(available online at www.act.org.nz/policies/resource-management), focused on property rights for private land, and on democratically accountable local groups being responsible for common areas. ACT believes that farmers and other water users should be free to use water how they see fit, so long as they remain within specified environmental limits. This should include making it easier for farmers to build water storage and irrigation.

Democratically accountable local communities – regional councils, not central government – should be responsible for setting environmental limits for water quality, quantity, and discharges. These environmental

limits will be based on a scientific assessment of the impact on the waterway.

Rather than setting allocation rules, which are illogical and add costs to the productive sector and businesses, ACT would introduce a market-based system which allows impacts of nutrient and other discharges on freshwater and groundwater to be traded within environmental limits.

These trading systems would operate through smart markets as described by University of Canterbury researchers Milke and Raffensperger. A smart market can reduce the transaction costs of trading impacts while improving the environmental outcomes. International evidence shows that trading impacts within environmental limits is the most effective and efficient long term management strategy to improve the environment.

Climate change is likely to result in increasing heavier rainfall and risk of flooding, and dry periods and droughts. Ensuring that farmers can meet the challenges of climate change through incentivising water storage and irrigation is a critical part of climate adaptation.

Coupled with a sensible pricing system for water drawing, private water storage can make a very important contribution to water security for an entire catchment by smoothing out water demand over time and reducing flood risks. It is an important way for communities to adapt to climate change. It is nonsensical that councils place regulatory barriers in the way of farmers and others who wish to build water storage.

Simon Court ACT MP for Climate, Environment, Infrastructure, Transport, Energy Resources, Local Government

ACT would make building water storage a permitted activity under an Environmental Protection Act for excess overland and rain water, i.e. above pre-climate change seasonal averages. That means specific council permission would not be required to build such facilities.

Similarly, once a pricing system is created for water allocation, there is no reason for councils to become involved in how that water is used. Therefore, drawing from common water resources to fill a storage facility would not require additional permission beyond holding a permit for the amount of water drawn. The same is true for irrigation, and transferring water

between neighbours, which would not require council permission.

The benefits of water storage infrastructure are huge. It drives innovation and allows producers to shift to higher value activities, mitigates against drought and other climaterelated issues, and creates certainty of supply for municipal water supplies, many of which across New Zealand are concerningly low.

Planning laws stand in the way of meaningful progress. New Zealand will need to build back from a seemingly inevitable recession. The risk is that if things don’t change, there will be an inevitable slide until New Zealand becomes an island paradise that is nicer to visit than actually live in. Real

change to planning laws is one of the things needed to prevent this, thereby allowing people to build things and make the most of the natural environment that can be New Zealand’s competitive advantage.

The food and fibre sector is essential to New Zealand’s prosperity. It is forecast to generate $55 billion in export revenue this year alone, and accounts for 81.4 percent of trade. Despite this significance, many aspects of the industry are held back by planning laws that aren’t fit for purpose.

Gert Sterenborg Farmer and CropX product manager Onstwedde, Netherlands

On farm and off farm – irrigation management in the Netherlands

For the last 500 years my family has been farming in and around a small village in the northeastern Netherlands called Onstwedde. We farm 50 different fields that cover 300 hectares. The land is flat, and the fields are often bounded by water-filled ditches. We are near the coastline, sitting about five metres above sea-level. Our homestead and primary fields have been in our family for only 350 years – the family moved from our original plots and that land is now a part of the village centre. We grow potatoes, sugar beets, onions, chicory, winter wheat, barley, and oats, as well as raise chickens and manage a small nature preserve. The farm employs myself, my parents, and one employee. For the past five years, I have also worked parttime for CropX, a digital farm management company, as a product manager helping create digital solutions to assist on-farm agronomic planning, including irrigation.

The Netherlands is a rainfed country, but the summers can be quite dry. Over 30 years ago my father purchased our first irrigation system, a hose reel traveller, and he was the first in the area to do so. Now hose reel travellers are the most common type of irrigation in the Netherlands and Germany.

The Netherlands is a rainfed country, but the summers can be quite dry. Over 30 years ago my father purchased our first irrigation system, a hose reel traveller, and he was the first in the area to do so. Now hose reel travellers are the most common type of irrigation in the Netherlands and Germany. It sprays a sprinkler gun with a radius of 50 metres. We also use several CropX soil sensors that send data to an app, which we look at daily to decide when and where to

start irrigating. We usually start with onions, our most valuable crop, then later move to potatoes. We don’t have enough irrigation systems to irrigate all 50 of our fields so we pick and choose the most valuable field to water, using the irrigation advice offered on the CropX app which shows the latest soil moisture readings. We typically have two sensors in the field – one in the wet spot and one in the dry spot – and we use elevation maps to help us make variable rate irrigation

prescriptions using a Raindancer system that can control and monitor how much water is sprayed.

At CropX I helped integrate the Raindancer system into the platform so that when a farmer is finished with irrigation, they (and I) can see it visualised on a map and the data is incorporated into the advice that is offered. This helps us decide when to come back to the same field. The app also shows us when evaporation is low. We use this information to help us decide whether we can irrigate an extra field.

The water we use comes from Lake IJsselmeer, a river-fed lake that’s source of water originates in Germany and the western Alps. We pay a fee to access the water and it is pumped up to our fields, and there are no limits to the amount of water we use. Our biggest constraints are the physical capacity to move the irrigation system among fields,

time, and the cost of diesel to power the water pumps.

In dry seasons the most important factor impacting yield is available water, and we want to apply a minimal amount of water to achieve a good yield. Though the Netherlands receives a lot of rain, during four out of the last five years the summers have been drier than usual. This is where the soil sensors and the data transferred to the CropX app are critical for helping us decide which fields to irrigate and when. If we finish irrigating early, we can head over to another field. It used to be that we had to irrigate for only one or two weeks a year, but in recent years we have needed to irrigate for over a month.

In the next couple of years we are looking to buy electrical pumps to cut down on diesel costs, put some fields on drip irrigation, and put some fields on lateral pivots.

As for CropX, we are connecting more

data from different smart irrigation systems to refine and expand the advice on offer. For instance, the CropX system also helps farmers with animal waste management by providing guidance for their effluent ponds and irrigation, and it can advise arable farmers on fungal disease management, an initiative that I led. The CropX system already incorporates crop type and planting dates, as well as soil, temperature, and weather conditions. We are expanding the machine data incorporated into the system so that the CropX system continues to build as a trusted partner, helping farmers make decisions that optimise their operations.

Practical solutions to protect our communities

Experiencing the devastation of a 1-in-200-year flood is enough motivation for any country to take a long hard look at its level of infrastructure resilience. So, it came as no surprise that New Zealand’s newly sworn-in Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, stated in his opening speech to Parliament for 2023 that the focus for his Government is to build back better, safer, and smarter.

Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand in February. It caused lives to be lost, livelihoods to be lost, the displacement of over 10,000 people, roads and bridges to be torn apart, and much more destruction, some as yet untold. Current estimates suggest that Gabrielle caused a minimum of NZ$10 billion in damages. New Zealand’s largest horticulture areas were heavily impacted. Miles upon miles of fruit, vegetables, and vines were ruined meaning tonnes of food were wiped out. Many animals, stock and others, were detrimentally impacted by the extreme weather event.

New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Philip Gregan said the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle, and the extent of the damage to vineyards in flooded areas in the North Island is still being assessed, but clean-up is underway as winegrowers look towards this year’s harvest.

“Cyclone Gabrielle has occurred on the cusp of the busiest time of year for the industry – just as the 2023 vintage is about

to begin – and it is a major blow for affected growers and wineries throughout Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne. We have been working with our regional associations and government agencies to support and help them access the resources they need to ensure the future viability of their vineyards.”

“We have a large number of vineyards in both regions that have not been as significantly impacted as others by Cyclone Gabrielle, and these winegrowers are beginning to harvest their crop, with many still feeling positive and looking forward to a high-quality vintage.”

As the varied extent of the damage in flooded regions becomes clearer, many winegrowers in these areas who have not been as extensively affected are moving on from the initial phase of response, and are beginning harvest. On the other hand, there are others who have suffered huge damage to their vineyards and wineries, and these devastated winegrowers needed help to begin the recovery and rehabilitation process.

“Those affected have a long road ahead of them to assess the damage, undertake the clean-up, and consider their future. The recovery funding announced by the Government this week is a good start to making this all possible, and future financial relief that is expected to be announced in due course will be appreciated.”

Photo above: Apples were among many food and fibre products damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle. (Photo: Bev Rennie)

Photo opposite: Looking towards Napier. (Photo: Sajith Muraleedharan)

In terms of tonnes, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne are New Zealand’s second and third largest wine-producing regions, respectively, together producing nearly 60,000 tonnes (or 12 percent) of the 2022 vintage.

Potatoes New Zealand spokesperson Gemma Carroll said in terms of potato crops, it is not possible to accurately comment on crop loss yet. More will be known once crops are harvested. If they have been sitting in waterlogged soil there are the risks of rotting in the ground, exposure to plant pests/plant disease, and rotting later in storage.

“Our commercial potato growers have crops across Aotearoa New Zealand. Crops are for fresh/crisping/fries/seed. In the North Island this year, we had crops impacted in Pukekohe during the January floods (Cyclone Hale).

These are mostly crops for the fresh market, but some for

processing too. We have crops in Hawke’s Bay but do not know the full impact of Cyclone Gabrielle there yet. There are pockets of areas planted in Central Hawke’s Bay that were not flooded/inundated, so we are hopeful. These will mostly be processing crops.”

“We have had no reports so far of crops flooded/damaged in Horowhenua, so that is promising for fresh supplies.”

She said the largest area planted is in Canterbury, much of which is for processing products (fries and crisps). There is still fresh grown there too, and almost all our seed potato is grown there. “As you can see the industry is widespread and complex in its breakdown.”

Zespri Chief Executive Dan Mathieson said it remained too early to understand the full impact of the cyclone. “Our latest estimate indicates that around 70 percent of the producing area

Pivotal.

Anderson Lloyd is the trusted legal advisor for major players in New Zealand’s irrigation sector, with a proven ability to deliver results. We have advised on numerous existing and proposed schemes in the North and South Islands and act for individual farmers and agribusinesses.

Our specialist team advises on all aspects associated with large-scale irrigation schemes including banking, capital raising, commercial contract, resource management and construction matters.

David Goodman, Partner

p: 03 335 1235

m: 027 787 8785

david.goodman@al.nz

Sarah Eveleigh, Partner

p: 03 335 1217

m: 027 204 1479

sarah.eveleigh@al.nz

Our latest estimate indicates that around 70 percent of producing area in the Hawke’s Bay and 25 percent in Gisborne have suffered moderate-to-significant damage. These regions are responsible for around 1.5 percent and 4 percent of our total industry production. There has also been some localised damage in other regions such as the Bay of Plenty, Northland and Coromandel.

in the Hawke’s Bay and 25 percent in Gisborne has suffered moderate-to-significant damage. These regions are responsible for around 1.5 percent and 4 percent of our total industry production. There has also been some localised damage in other regions, such as the Bay of Plenty, Northland, and Coromandel.”

He said what was clear is that our focus on food safety must remain absolute, and fruit that has had direct contact with flood water will not be harvested. They were working to understand options regarding maintaining food safety standards in respect of fruit from affected orchards which has not been directly in contact with flood waters.

“Cyclone Gabrielle is yet another challenge for our industry in 2023, and it’s even more important now that we continue to support each other.”

As the level of destruction becomes more widely known and understood, the concern about how we protect ourselves in the future grows. There is no denying that our small, beautiful, and bountiful country is very vulnerable to increased variations in weather and more extreme conditions. Floods, droughts, and winds will all come and go in varying degrees of intensity with smaller and smaller gaps of time between.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said that Auckland’s total January rainfall was more than twice the previous record for the month. It was equivalent to 45 percent of its annual rainfall and the storm on January 27th doubled the total in a single day. At the same time, the North Island was being battered by rain and wind, and parts of the South Island were parched, with Otago experiencing severe water shortages.

Our plea to the Government as they seek to build back better, safer, and smarter is to consider sensible and resilient water capture and storage as part of the solution.

Water capture and storage is a proven way to reduce the destructive effects of flooding by regulating the flow and volume of water into vulnerable areas. Drawing on water from storage also supports food production and land-use change.

The more volatility in the climate, the more we will need resilience in water infrastructure.

Even NIWA has said, “While nature-based solutions such as infiltration basins, ponds, and wetlands have been put forward as additions to our current pipe-based systems for flood protection, these alone won’t be enough. We also need to explore low-risk infrastructure that diverts and stores water more effectively, introduce managed retreat for vulnerable areas, and continue maintenance and upgrades to our existing drain network.”

To support low-risk, high resilience infrastructure we need a resource management system that has a practical approach to development and man-made intervention. We also need to depoliticise the conversation about water management.

Access to reliable water is very enabling for our communities and our country, including its role within many industries.

The same infrastructure that provides reliable water in drier seasons can also absorb water when we have too much, taking the pressure off waterways and reducing flood risk.

These attributes must be brought into the conversation at the highest level as we look to build resilient infrastructure in New Zealand.

Reaching an agreement on where to build water storage and who should pay for it will be lengthy, and planning to ensure the best feasibility and engineering before any build takes place will also take time. We cannot afford to delay and we cannot ignore this as part of the solution. This infrastructure must be elevated to critical levels with a strategy developed to support it.

(Photo: Bev Rennie)

New Zealand’s digital connectivity strategy and its importance to farm management

The government released its digital connectivity statement of intent in December 2022. It is available on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s website – Lifting Connectivity in Aotearoa. IrrigationNZ has been looking at what this means for our rural community, what it could deliver, and what are the limitations or advantages for rural farm management. Connectivity is crucial to farms now, especially when it comes to using the technology available to those with irrigation.

MEETING THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE IN RURAL AND REMOTE AREAS

Good connectivity in rural and remote areas is important for productivity and innovation, social connection and community building, health (including mental health) and safety, environmental compliance, and education. Good rural connectivity is also important for attracting and retaining skilled workers.

In addition, overseas customers and the countries New Zealand trades with are increasingly demanding that agricultural, horticultural and other primary produce be ethically sourced and environmentally friendly, including having low greenhouse gas emissions. Aotearoa New Zealand risks losing market access or customers if we fail to meet those demands.

Good connectivity enables the primary sector to make use of a wider range of technologies that assist with domestic and international market success. This includes demonstrating adherence to environmental regulations, meeting animal tracking and welfare requirements, and providing proof of provenance.

Focus areas: There are still large areas in rural New Zealand without quality connectivity options. Remote households within these areas are going to be the hardest to reach, and a variety of technologies may need to be used to meet the needs of these households. As mentioned in the section: building on successful foundations, the Government’s Remote Users Scheme is a $15 million fund, which will provide bespoke connectivity solutions for remote and rural New Zealanders who have little or no connectivity at their principal residence. This scheme will help our hardest to reach households gain access to connectivity.

Focus areas: In areas where wireless is still the most practical connectivity solution, we will need to determine how we sustainably manage network congestion issues in these areas so that rural communities can rely on a standard of network performance that meets their work, life, and study needs.

GOVERNMENT STATEMENT OF INTENT

Four priorities support the vision for digital connectivity Our vision for 2032 is anchored by four priorities. These priorities reflect, and are complementary to, broader priorities and other work programmes across government to ensure Aotearoa New Zealand thrives in the digital era.

Priority 2. Improving the rural connectivity experience for current and future needs.

People living in rural and remote areas of Aotearoa New Zealand have significant connectivity needs. The comparative remoteness of rural areas and distance from both neighbours and from the full array of services urban centres enjoy, makes the ability to connect online important.

People in rural areas need to be able to access vital services and carry out activities such as remote learning and access to telehealth services. Improved connectivity will also facilitate the kinds of environmental and provenance reporting that will ensure market premium for our export products. Improving the rural connectivity experience does not mean having the same infrastructure or service performance as urban areas.

It means being able to undertake many of the same activities including streaming, teleconferencing, accessing services online, filling in online forms, and uploading and downloading files.

Performance similar to that offered at the higher­end of what 4G can provide could be a sufficient solution for many needs, however it is likely that this could change over time.

The government’s commitment to spend considerable funding in this area is a good sign. It provides opportunities for farmers in data management, better utilisation of their farm business assets, and addressing demands such as environmental reporting, provenance stories, and access to markets. The biggest question is around determining the right connectivity option to get that level of access to systems. A lot of what is contained in the government statement of intent could start to be seen during 2023, therefore it is important for your farm business to understand this digital connectivity strategy and include it in your future planning. It makes it worth looking at.

What is connectivity? It is the ability to access information and systems using the internet.

In this article we discuss several connectivity options that are available in New Zealand and what their benefits and limitations might be for your situation.

In some cases, depending on the network capacity and what you need connectivity for, you may need high speed. You may only need low speed to get the amount of data to suit your purposes. For example, farm management systems connectivity is often called IoT or Internet of Things. This is where devices can talk directly to the IoT network. But there is limited coverage of IoT networks which is a drawback, so you may need to look at other networks.

The next best option is needed for farm management systems, and this includes fibre, cellular, and satellite. If you’re just looking for connectivity for the TV this is different to the requirements for farm management. To achieve something like movie streaming with high audio and video quality you need speed and this probably needs fibre or a very good cellular, or satellite, network. The speed of your system performance will depend on what your internet service provider (ISP) can provide you.

The limitation with the connectivity strategy and how this affects rural customers is that you may request fibre access from your ISP but depending on the extent of the infrastructure roll out it may not be possible. Some of the possible reasons might be your distance from the main infrastructure hubs, lack of consumers in your particular area or down your road, or access to your property may involve a complex route. For the supplier these things are just not cost effective per customer. If fibre is not available then the supplier may recommend cellular.

There is another possible reason for a lack of guaranteed internet speed, even if you can get fibre to your gate. This is the distance back to a hub with necessary capacity. It may be limited by too many customers on a small hub in a rural area. It's a similar concept to an overloaded cellular service which could give you jittery service. The same can happen with fibre.

What is bandwidth? Effectively, bandwidth is the size of the pipe or the conductor within the network that allows the volume of data. You can liken this to a water system where you need to get tank water to your irrigator with a certain flow requirement. But your pipes may be too small or there may be other things drawing off water along the mainline.

The roll out may increase bandwidth, thus increasing capacity.

Indicative mobile coverage availability across Aotearoa

New Zealand – March 2022.

(Source: Lifting Connectivity in Aotearoa New Zealand Government Statement of Intent for Improving Digital Connectivity, December 2022, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment www.mbie.govt.nz/assets/lifting-connectivity-inaotearoa-new-zealand-december-22.pdf)

If fibre is not available then the cellular network is the next best option. The speed is almost as good as fibre in some cases. Again the main limitation for rural purposes is coverage, e.g. where's the nearest cell tower or cell site. You may be familiar with checking coverage/connection strength by looking at how many bars you have on your cell phone.

So what is the difference between 3G, 4G and 5G? Effectively this is the speed/capacity of the cellular service based on the generation of technology. Cell sites may support different speeds and not necessarily 3G, 4G, and 5G. This could limit connectivity. 5G tower coverage reaches across less distance, so more 5G towers are required for an area than would be required for the same area to be covered by 4G, which has 1.5 times more coverage for site. Part of the solution to this is installing lots of sites. Of course, you’ll need to consider upgrading the device you are using as even a three year old 4G cell phone may not be able to connect to the more advanced 5G network.

orbit satellites. This innovation is relatively new. You may be familiar with the swarm of satellites that are being seen in our night skies as the likes of Elon Musk deploy thousands of these satellites in a communication network. You can liken the low orbit satellites to dozens of rubber bands stretched around a tennis ball, all orbiting in their own unique path providing extensive coverage on the ground. Low orbit satellites provide internet type connections via satellite communication.

Indicative satellite coverage availability across Aotearoa

New Zealand – March 2022.

The government strategy is written with the understanding of fibre and cellular networks as they stand today. Some things stated in the document limit the government’s commitment, i.e they use the term ‘to the gate’ as they know the complexity of some driveways and/or geographical limitations. It is much easier to achieve consumer connectivity to fibre in the urban residential situation where typical distances from a house to the road are much shorter than in rural areas.

The government has recognised it can't deliver the last step, i.e. connecting from the main network routes right to your farming operation, residents, or on-site equipment. So the government has partnered up in the rural broadband initiative to engage with other businesses to provide the last steps. This stage may require putting a cellular site on your farm. There might be a cost to this but these partnerships are subsidised by the government in order to provide the overall network access and capacity.

The third option for connectivity is low

It’s important to differentiate connectivity that you would expect with a cell phone from access to the internet. With good cellular coverage your cell phone can provide voice call and text messaging connection as well as internet access. Fibre and satellites provide access to the internet and not necessarily any voice or messaging service. This is not going to be something you carry around in your pocket on a day-to-day basis. Satellite access will need a box, not a pocket device. They’re still expensive, but as the volume of sales increase we would expect to see the equipment and service cost come down.

The low orbit satellite system will give the best coverage. It is normally not limited by geographic network constraints. As it is relatively new and complex technology, the biggest limitation is cost. You will certainly need to pay more than for cellular service.

You may use GPS positioning satellites for surveying, or other positioning such as hunting. Some of that system is limited by line of sight to the satellites, so they encounter problems when they go below the horizon. The vast numbers of low orbit

satellites being deployed have largely solved this problem within the field of cellular connectivity.

So what can you use all this information for? Farm management solutions? TV and movies? Accessing websites? In its Statement of Intent the government identifies quite a long list of opportunities applicable to rural and farming customers. There is health and safety monitoring, environmental reporting of things such as GHG emissions, educational resources, and the stories that can be presented to our markets to support ethically produced food, to name but a few.

There are many service providers riding the wave of digital technology. This gives rise to another issue regarding the devices that you may have in your farming operation that need reliable connectivity. They all need power. Good connectivity will also rely on the efficiency and longevity of the power source, which requires special consideration for battery-powered devices such as cattle ear tags, soil moisture monitors, weather stations, and equipment monitoring your infrastructure, such as water meters and pumps.

All the information gathered by your devices needs to be stored somewhere, and conveyed somehow, so devices need to connect to the internet. To have all your devices connected through IoT networks will most likely need additional advice and support. You'll need to get expert advice on utilising the best available connectivity, and this may require additional infrastructure to link your devices. This will, of course, affect the cost of what you're trying to achieve.

If you are in an IoT network coverage area this will be more cost effective. But the two IoT networks are largely limited to main urban centres, the peri-urban margins, and our main highways. You can look at maps of this coverage, for example: www.vodafone.co.nz/iot/lpwan

Depending on the local geography you

may still need site-specific boosters such as antennae and local mesh extenders. You may be familiar with these as some homes have Wi-Fi boosters.

In the background of improving digital connectivity there is also an initiative to remove copper from our communication networks as it is being superseded. Over time copper-based services will be shut down, including things such as landline phones and hard-wired security systems, etc. If you've had a letter about the copper services you may not have realised the implication. You may have to take action so that you do not lose your service. Your remaining option is to get on a broadband service.

FARM MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND CONNECTIVITY

Technological farm management systems and devices such as ear tags, moisture sensors, and milk vat monitoring are likely to all be from different service and technology providers. Usually the data goes to their own dashboard or app for you to view on your phone or your computer via the internet. This means you could have multiple screens to look at and skip between in order to get all the information you need to manage your farming or growing operation. Some new service providers are looking to amalgamate this information into a whole farm system. This complex process relies on data compatibility so you would need to contact experts who specialise in this type of service.

These specialist service providers track developments in network coverage, technology changes, and policy drivers, and adapt their services to meet customer demands and requirements in the rural economy. As the government advances its programmes in the rural sector it would be unethical to see a preferential list established for preferred suppliers. It’s better to see innovation drive a wider range of developments backed by

specialists and expertise, and providing opportunities to engage with experts.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE BENEFIT OF HAVING A HIGHLY CONNECTED RURAL ECONOMY?

We already see our trading partners look for a high level of visibility regarding the source and origin of the foods they buy. They are interested in the provenance; the story behind the production, and the environmental and social standards associated with the foods they consume. We are seeing this as QR codes on packaging which allow consumers to directly link back to the food producer. This will be a big part of New Zealand’s future trade in food, beverages, and natural fibres.

We are aware of programmes such as NZ GAP and Global GAP. Will we eventually see these becoming mandatory to be able to trade? This may add an additional layer of cost to our production system. This raises questions on how hard and fast the government would push requirements (through the Ministry for Primary Industries) for offshore trading. Or it may be something the market demands, and our producers will have to respond accordingly, with or without government intervention. Either way, the government’s connectivity strategy is an important factor in our ability to respond to market demands. You can imagine a future in which IoT enables environmental certification to be highly visible to trade partners, ensuring market access and meeting consumer preferences. This will likely shape the future, and the government statement of intent suggests we are rapidly driving down that road. Currently costs seem to fall heavily on the end users, and not all the reporting requirements are directly recoverable. To meet external trade policies it may be a smart idea for government to consider cost offsets inside the farm gate while supporting the drive for connectivity to the gate.

This article has been produced with the valuable contribution of Adrian McNaughton, who has a 35 year career in information technology. Adrian provided valuable insights on the interpretation of the government statement of intent, calling on his career providing digital and infrastructure solutions for many New Zealand applications, including our primary industries and rural communities.

Amazing places & green spaces thanks to irrigation

For this pair of Cantabrians what makes irrigation so special is its ability to help people better the growth in their part of the planet.

Simon and Vicki Ensor are the owners of Wai Design. To them the name represents not only wai – the Māori name for water and irrigation – but also the question “Why?”. Why is it important to have welldesigned irrigation systems?

Simon began Wai Design in 2018. However, his passion for irrigation and water use efficiency stems from his early days growing up in North Canterbury. After attending Lincoln University, where he completed a Bachelor in Commerce majoring in Agriculture Management and Engineering, he returned home to his family farm in 1980. Simon married Vicki in 1982, and later that year irrigation was developed on the property. In order to diversify and be more profitable, in 1986 the farm was subdivided and used for flower growing. They installed irrigation to the many small flower-growing businesses.

“I still recall the feeling of turning the water on … the relief of having a major factor under our control. Now it is much more precise with online weather prediction and control.”

This was the beginning of Simon’s passion for irrigation development. In 2004 he began working for Irrigation and Pumping Ohoka, building and servicing pivot irrigators. Three years later he transferred to Waterforce where he stayed for 12 years.

“Initially my role was quite varied, but an opportunity arose to move into a sales/design role for commercial and residential clients. During this time I watched the growth of commercial operators. The scale of their developments changed from a few houses to whole subdivisions and retirement villages.”

Simon made the decision to draw on his skills and begin his own business in 2018. At the beginning of the business Simon operated it by himself, but over the last 18 months his wife Vicki, two design engineers, and a part-time business manager have come on board.

Although Simon’s focus had been on good designs that meet

standards, he saw a gap for designing on a smaller scale on multistage projects. “Water is incredibly important in recreational spaces, retirement villages, subdivisions, and commercial developments. Good quality design means less water use and improved plant health. It’s important water isn’t undervalued in commercial situations.”

“We have developed a business that includes landscape architecture engineering and the irrigation industry all in one.”

Water use efficiency is undoubtedly important when it comes to growing for agriculture, horticulture and more, but it is also very important in urban areas.

Simon Ensor measuring application rates.

He said their focus was on sustainable irrigation design and plans that are not influenced by product sales. Provided services include auditing projects, creating GPS-assisted plans, performance assessments, and pond and water feature design.

Simon said they have had the opportunity to develop and implement irrigation design for a range of systems, and an ongoing challenge for them was improving design software. “It took three years of product development to achieve what we now do, and new development work is always ongoing”.

Simon’s “Why?” for what he does was a love of the outdoors and growing things. “I was there at The Russley Retirement Village when the trees and gardens were planted, which led to them winning a summer garden award. Now I continue to teach the staff how to monitor and manage their irrigation, so together we are making the planet a better place to live.”

He said their aim for the future was to continue developing their business and helping improve the standards for irrigation in commercial environments.

“On a building site, there are standards for electricity and windows, etc, however there aren’t any for irrigation. As our water use becomes more and more important I would like to see some more standards introduced for urban irrigation. Many projects are wasting 20–30 percent of the water they use. Across a city, this is just a waste when it goes down the drain.”

“There is an increasing awareness of the linkages between green space and wellness. There are so many people passionate about our water use and its future, so it is important to have young people developing our business for the future.”

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Vicki Ensor surveying.

Plan for spring winds now to avoid pain later

Irrigator claims costs associated with wind have totalled more than $10 million in the last five years, and that is before factoring in the valuable production and time that’s also lost.

“Winter is the time to be reviewing your plan so you can minimise disruption and avoid expensive repairs,” said FMG’s Manager of Advice Services, Angela Hogg.

“Also, with the continued strains on global supply chains, parts could be hard to source meaning potentially months of disruption.”

There are four main areas of consideration when reviewing your plan:

PREDICTION

New Zealand weather patterns are known for being variable and unpredictable. Farmers and growers are increasingly more connected online.

Some of our clients have had great success 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.

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 as the person who normally makes the decision may not be on-farm at the time.

As well as understanding who is responsible of what part of the business, include the person who is responsible for:

• monitoring the weather

• making the decision to take action

• getting the irrigators back in action.

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 getting back to irrigating.

PRACTICE

The winter months are a good time to practice, especially for new staff members who are not familiar with the plan. Just like for 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.”

“We’ve found that many irrigators that tip over in spring aren’t pointed into the wind. Also, parking irrigators up against hedges in windstorms does put the irrigator at risk of having trees or branches falling on the irrigator,” says Angela.

Head to www.fmg.co.nz/advice/ irrigators for more information about protecting your irrigators, including access to the free Irrigator Advice Guide.

Planning to burn crop residue? Here’s what you need to know

With

well underway,

While stubble burning is a permitted activity in Canterbury, it’s vital to follow the rules and be considerate to neighbours.

If you’re planning to burn crop residue, there are a few things you need to do to prepare:

• Visit checkitsalright.nz to find out if you are allowed to burn. If you’re burning in a restricted or prohibited fire season, you’ll need a permit from Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

• Make a smoke management plan. This is a legal requirement and must cover everything from the weather forecast for the day of the burn to how you’ll inform those who may be affected. An easy-to-follow template is available at ecan.govt.nz/smokeplan.

• Consider your neighbours and the wider community. Making a sign or two saying “planned crop residue burn” can reassure passers-by and avoid unnecessary emergency calls.

• If your farm is in the Timaru or Ashburton crop residue burning buffer zone, you will need a resource consent before burning.

Environment Canterbury’s South Canterbury Service Delivery Leader Brian Reeves says most Canterbury farmers who burn crop residue do so responsibly.

“The vast majority check conditions, make smoke management plans, and apply for consents where required, which is great,” Reeves says.

“Some even go the extra mile by putting out signs when they’re crop burning. This is especially appreciated, as it avoids unnecessary callouts to Fire and Emergency and our incident response team.”

If you want more guidance or information about the stubble burning rules, start by visiting ecan.govt.nz/outdoorburning or call Environment Canterbury’s Advisory Team on 0800 329 276

harvest

removing crop stubble and getting fields ready for sowing is one of the top priorities, and burning crop residue is a common method.

Timaru

Ashburton crop residue burning buffer

Ashburton

Keeping up with a changing environment

Planning for successful grazing over the winter

Farmers are hearing a lot of information about winter grazing requirements right now, but the key message has not changed – all farmers need to make and follow a winter grazing management plan.

By now winter feed and crops will be almost ready for the coming cold. How you manage feeding stock over the months when grass isn’t growing is crucial for reducing your impact on the environment, maximising animal welfare and your bottom line.

Your written winter grazing management plan should clearly identify each of the environmental risks associated with the winter grazing, as well as your plan to manage and mitigate each of these risks. This plan will be the key reference you follow over the winter months.

Government and industry organisations have developed several winter grazing management templates and guidance documents you can use to make your plan –check out the templates on the DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb or Ministry for Primary Industries’ websites.

Is resource consent required for winter grazing?

Whether you need to apply for resource consent for winter grazing depends on if you can meet the permitted activity rules.

If you winter grazed between 2014 and 2019, aren’t increasing the area used for winter grazing since then, winter graze on less than 50 hectares or less than 10 percent of your land on a farm larger than 500 hectares, are on low slope land, protect critical source areas and keep stock well clear of waterways, you may meet the permitted activity rules – meaning resource consent is not required.

For more details on our permitted activity rules, visit ecan.govt.nz/winter-grazing

Keeping track of your fertiliser use

Fertiliser use promotes the pasture growth rates that feed large numbers of stock – but it also comes with environmental risks.

The use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers on land is linked to lowered water quality in rivers, streams, and groundwater. This fertiliser use, and the more intensive land use it allows, needs to be balanced with actions to protect waterways.

That’s why the use of nitrogen fertiliser is limited to 190 kg per hectare, per year. This limit applies to all grazed pasture.

Dairy farmers are also required to report their fertiliser use. Reports cover the July to June season, and the 2022-2023 season’s report needs to be submitted by July 31 this year. For more information on how to report your fertiliser use, visit ecan.govt.nz/ncap

How can I reduce synthetic fertiliser use and still grow enough pasture?

Efficient fertiliser use means only putting on the nutrients when they’re needed, and only the amount that’s needed. Excess fertiliser isn’t taken up by plants’ roots and seeps into the ground, so it’s not only a risk to water sources, but a waste of your money.

Applying fertiliser in smaller amounts more often, scheduling your irrigation, measuring nitrogen levels in soil, planting catch crops and sowing plantain in pasture can all help you get more benefit from the fertiliser you use, and allow you to reduce application.

Remember, the application limit only applies to synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. That means organic sources of nitrogen, like farm effluent, can also be applied.

Many farmers are considering using effluent injection and fertigation methods to apply fertiliser with greater precision. See ecan.govt.nz/fertigation for more information on these practices.

We’re here to help

Need a hand with new farming regulations?

We know there’s a lot to get your head around, so we’re coming to your area to help you understand what’s required on your farm.

Drop in and talk to our staff about:

• consent requirements for winter grazing

• reducing, recording and reporting nitrogen use

• any other farming practices we can help with.

For more information, visit ecan.govt.nz/drop-in

Have your say on our draft Annual Plan 2023/24

Whether it’s working through a long list of flood recovery repair jobs or monitoring water quality at more than 1000 sites across our region, your regional council is committed to delivering on its work programme for the coming year.

This year’s draft plan shows that we’re committed to a $270 million work programme made up of exciting projects in the rural space, including:

• planting 25,000 new natives and 11,000 perpetual forest natives in our regional parks

• spending nearly $750,000 on braided river revival, wetlands, fish habitat, fish passage and habitat restoration

• working through flood recovery repair jobs (189 of a total 398 flood repair jobs are still to be completed)

• monitoring water quality and ecosystem health at more than 1000 sites across our region, enabling community decisions on environmental and wellbeing outcomes

• working with landowners to protect, enhance and regenerate priority habitats.

Currently in Canterbury, many farms are managing risks and making improvements to systems and practices to reduce their impact on the environment with audited Farm Environment Plans (FEP) and meeting good management practice on farms. This year we will be:

• continuing to manage and implement the FEP programme and supporting resource users to continue meeting good management practice

• ensuring FEP audits are completed on time and to agreed standards

• making sure irrigation schemes and other groups that manage multiple consents meet at least good management practice.

We’d like to hear from you on what you think about our approach, and the work we have planned for the year – particularly on projects that support environmental outcomes in the rural community.

To read more about what’s in the draft Annual Plan 2023/24, visit ecan.govt.nz/whatstheplan. Tell us if you think we’re on the right track or where we can make improvements. Fill out the feedback form before 11.59pm on Monday 3 April to have your say.

Taking action together to shape a thriving and resilient Canterbury, now and for future generations.

Toitū te marae o Tāne, toitū te marae o Tangaroa, toitū te iwi.

www.ecan.govt.nz

High resolution drought forecasting now easily accessible at both national and regional level

A trial version of a 35-day drought forecasting tool that debuted at Mystery Creek Fieldays 2022 will now enter its final development stage before an official launch in 2023.

The free, online tool is being developed by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the Ministry of Primary Industries to help farmers and growers prepare for dryness or drought weather.

It is the work of NIWA’s data scientist Neelesh Rampal and meteorologists Ben Noll and Tristan Meyers. The researchers have been using innovative climate modelling, the latest in machine learning, and other data-driven techniques to provide high-resolution, longrange forecasts. Users can review a 35-day outlook and a weekly outlook to examine the

risk of dryness or drought at a national or regional level.

They can also review year-to-date and forecast rainfall, a section that provides an over view of observed rainfall over the past season compared with the same time in the last three years, and the forecast rainfall range over the next 35 days.

Data for the online tool is updated every afternoon. Climate forecasting featured highly at NIWA’s Fieldays site this year where the new drought forecasting tool was available for people to test. Tristan was at the international agricultural event to show people how to use it, and to answer questions.

“Farmers know their own regions well, but this tool allows them to compare what they observe versus what we observe, then see what’s coming ahead, dry weather or rain.”

Tristan, who is based in Wellington, said feedback from Fieldays was invaluable and sometimes unexpected, with other connected industries keen to use long-range forecasts.

“I spoke to people in transport logistics, who said they would benefit from these outlooks because dry conditions mean they see an uptick in transport when farmers decide to cull stock.”

The drought forecast tool is just one instrument in a risk management tool-belt that farmers and primary producers will have access to.

“People are using various methods to find monthly forecast data, but there is no reliable or consistent method. Our drought forecasting tool fills that gap.”

Ben is based in Auckland and also attended Fieldays. He has been reviewing the results of a survey completed by people who had taken the tool for a test drive.

“The results show there is plenty of interest in a forecast that can go five weeks into the future and one which can provide information people can act on. That feedback will influence the final look of the tool as we develop it over the next year.”

niwa.co.nz/climate/research-projects/ high-resolution-drought-forecasting

NIWA meteorologist Tristan Meyers said people from a variety of industries were keen to see how the drought forecasting tool worked at Fieldays 2022.

(Photo: Sarah Fraser/NIWA)

Farmers know their own regions well, but this tool allows them to compare what they observe versus what we observe, then see what’s coming ahead, dry weather or rain.

New regulations to keep dams safe – what dam owners need to know

In May 2022 the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) announced new regulations on dam safety. The regulations provide a nationally consistent approach to ensuring dams are kept safe, and removes risks to your livelihood, property, livestock, and the community, should your dam fail.

Most farming and irrigation dams won’t be impacted by the regulations, as they don’t meet the height or volume thresholds. However, you will need to determine if your dam is impacted.

The regulations focus on keeping a dam safe once it is built, meaning they are separate to any requirements under the Building Consent and Resource Consent processes.

The regulations come into effect on 13 May 2024. This gives you time to prepare for your new dam safety responsibilities.

ACTIONS YOU WILL NEED TO TAKE

Prior to 13 May 2024, there are two key things you will need to determine:

1. Does your water retention structure meet the definition of a dam as per the Building Act 2004? See: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/ public/2004/0072/latest/DLM306054.html

If it doesn’t, you will not be impacted by the dam safety regulations and there is no further action you need to take regarding these regulations. If it does, go to step 2.

2. Is your dam big enough to be impacted by the regulations?

If your dam meets either of the height or volume thresholds below, then it is impacted by the regulations:

• four or more metres high, storing 20,000 or more cubic metres volume of water, or other fluid; or

• one or more metres high, storing 40,000 or more cubic metres volume of water, or other fluid.

If your dam does not meet either of the thresholds above, then it is not impacted by the dam safety regulations and there is no further action you need to take regarding these regulations.

WHERE TO GO FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

MBIE has developed information and resources to help you understand whether your dam is impacted by the regulations, and if so, what you need to do to comply with your new responsibilities.

These are available on MBIE’s Building Performance website and include a resource to help dam owners calculate the volume of their dam, an online learning module which provides an overview of the regulations, and a detailed guidance document.

Information and resources for dam owners can be found on the Building Performance website: www.building.govt.nz/dam-safety

Dam in Wairarapa.

Stephen McNally Principal Technical Advisor IrrigationNZ

Technical and policy update

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT 1991 (RMA) REFORMS

IrrigationNZ has taken the opportunity to make a formal submission to the Environment Select Committee on the Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBEB) and Spatial Planning Bill (SPB).

We believe that there is a need for reform and that the case for change is clear. The RMA is not fit for its intended purpose of balancing the protection of our natural resources with the needs of our society. These needs are safe, reliable, and affordable food and natural fibres produced by a resilient and strong primary sector economy.

Over the past 30 years the RMA and its associated planning documents have been highly amended and manipulated.

This has resulted in an unbalanced approach that has not achieved the intended outcomes for a protected environment, resilient society, and buoyant economy.

We believe that it needs to be replaced with something that is better.

The reform process is an opportunity to make significant amendments to the current RMA and planning documents, which should result in a better legislative framework for resource management and enable our community to progress. However, we did not support the form of the bills presented for public submission in late 2022.

This reform is a crucial opportunity for IrrigationNZ and its members to make an ongoing positive and practical contribution to New Zealand’s future. All human existence has an environmental impact, which is exacerbated as the population grows. We need to strike a balance in our environmental policies, which must be supported by

sound and workable legislation, including sensible planning instruments. We agree that the management of New Zealand’s natural resources should take a long-term approach, based on sound knowledge and a combination of science and mātauranga mauri, Te Mana o te Wai, etc.

To ensure that all community expectations are considered and met where possible, carefully planned use of natural resources for community wellbeing needs to be balanced with safe, healthy, and reliable food and fibre production. It’s worth noting that our national communities of interest regarding environmental outcomes are not confined to urban dwellers; rural communities and their social fabric must also have a say in the resource management decision-making process.

The NBEB in its February 2023 form was not a good solution. It was too restrictive, and short-term focused on the interests of a narrow view of the environment and the benefits farming brings to society.

We agreed with many other submitters that the NBEB and SPB are too complex, confused, and ambiguous. We presented to the Select Committee that a lack of improvement in the bills will lead to a litigious approach as anomalies are identified and debated, with little benefit to the environment or meeting community aspirations.

IrrigationNZ in its submission has proposed several pragmatic improvements to this legislation.

See our submission on our website, under News & Advocacy, Submissions.

NATIONAL OBJECTIVE FRAMEWORK (NOF) GUIDANCE

IrrigationNZ highlighted that uncertain durations of consents or the possibility of mid-term reviews or alterations could deter investment in irrigation infrastructure, which is essential for providing stability to businesses and community planning and development. Therefore, clear and predictable regulatory frameworks are necessary to adapt to changing requirements. They must strike a balance between flexibility and prescriptiveness, local and national approaches, and diverse stakeholder input. This balance of certainty is crucial for the well-being of businesses, communities, and the environment.

IrrigationNZ recently made a submission to the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) on He Ārahitanga mō Te Anga Whāinga ā-Motu o te National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) / Guidance on the National Objectives Framework of the NPS-FM; July 2022. The document was open for review for six months.

The core target of the NOF guidance appears to be regional councils looking for help in delivering on the requirements set out in the NPS-FM, clause by clause stating the policy intent and suggesting what a region should do within their planning instruments.

In our experience, for a regional council staff member time-pressured in producing a new consent, the NOF guidance could default to be considered the rule book, without the staff member going back to the Regulations or even the Resource Management Act as it stands.

We need to strike a balance in our environmental policies, which must be supported by sound and workable legislation, including sensible planning instruments.

Therefore, all guidance needs to be consistent with Acts and Regulations, without introducing bias or new aspects that have not had the benefit of community input.

In our opinion there is, unfortunately, an unhelpful negative undertone to the NOF guidance, along with other environmental policies and regulations, in reference to agricultural use of water resources. There is virtually no reference to any form of land use from human activity having an environmental impact, other than farming. For example, urban sprawl and municipal sewage discharges are basically unmentioned. There is a single use of the word wastewater in relation to the urban environment.

The missing balance is that the community view on water availability and security for producing food is not mentioned as an objective of managing our natural resources. Irrigation is glossed over or outright disapproved of as a source of contamination.

Taking this negatively-weighted view of water for food production, the requirements of the NOF could see constraining limits set for at least ten years, with an encouragement in the guide for regional councils to take an even longer view on locking things down. That approach will place our rural communities, their social fabric, and the agrisector economy at risk.

The NPS-FM directive is clear that communities must be involved in setting environmental objectives and cannot be dismissed in favour of a solely council/iwi partnership. IrrigationNZ believes some regional councils already have this critically wrong, saying publicly that only the regional council and iwi will set the Freshwater Management Unit (FMU) objectives and all other people “in communities” are stakeholders on the outside of the two-way partnership. IrrigationNZ has submitted that the NOF guidance is critical in clarifying the regulations.

The NOF guide uses language that encourages restrictive actions, adopting timeframes and changes in land use practices that are still subject to submissions on the enabling Act reforms, and steps into redefining good farming practices.

The suggestion that ten years gives certainty is naive at best and introduces a bias that is unsubstantiated. We are particularly concerned that telling irrigators that their access to water is temporary will not help provide confidence in investing in the long-term water storage assets and land use change that

other government policies are encouraging. Ten years is insufficient for effective infrastructure development, e.g. many crops don’t produce their first full yield for several years.

FRESHWATER FARM PLAN (FWFP) REGULATIONS

While we are bound by non-disclosure agreements on the details of the exposure draft regulations, we hold a general understanding of the regulations and the farm plan template roll out process.

We have gone back to contemplate our 2021 submission to MfE on how to make the regulations workable in terms of getting buyin (i.e. people accepting and using FWFPs as a tool) rather than seeing the regulations as another compliance box-ticking exercise.

What we don’t want are regulations that are overly complex and focused on processes that do not reflect the fundamentally important role of the agricultural communities and businesses which are best placed to achieve the environmental objectives set out in the public policies.

Our 2021 submission highlighted several key areas which we feel are still valid in the development of the FWFP regulations.

While we support the notion that certainty for the farming community will come from nationally consistent regulations, they must retain the flexibility in a regional context to adopt and adapt to well-established locally focused or sector specific farm planning processes and industry assurance programmes. This is vitally important to avoid duplication of farm management actions or redundancy of existing effective programmes.

IrrigationNZ accepts the fundamental concept behind the FWFPs being the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management – Te Mana o te Wai principles. These principles clearly establish the joint obligation of communities, tangata whenua, and regional councils of New Zealand to work together in a partnership. The role of the community is highlighted throughout as being critical in establishing freshwater values and taking actions to address risks. The language and intent of the FWFP regulations need to reflect the active role of the food and fibre sectors accordingly.

The timing and milestones within the certification and audit processes must reflect that different regions, farming communities, catchment groups, and irrigation schemes are at different stages of dealing with farm

environmental plans. Many irrigation schemes are already well advanced within their shareholder farming operations in the management of environmental impacts, through wellstructured and regulated systems. We believe that transition to a fully implemented FWFP system needs to acknowledge existing processes and knowledge relating to existing environmental management plans.

While there is some indication of a regionally staged rollout of the FWFP regulations, the timeframes need to reflect the constraints on pace of change in complex farming systems and business models. They also need to align the contemplation of, or agreement on, environmental values and objectives within a three-way partnership between a regulator, iwi, and the community. The FWFP process cannot be undertaken when these relationships and values have not yet been established. The farmers and growers should not be held accountable where these activities are yet to be commenced.

There needs to be a nationally integrated approach to capacity building, through training and accreditation of FWFP certifiers and auditors, to support the development of functional FWFP regulations. While this capacity building process seems to be under way, there remains a lack of readily available expertise across many complex areas of freshwater management, such as irrigation management.

Finally, we advocated in 2021 that any policy development timeframe should be in alignment with other nationally set legislation and regulations to enable and ensure relative consistency of processes across the country. IrrigationNZ continues to urge the freshwater policy development team to fully integrate their work programme with other teams in the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), MfE, Taumata Arowai and Te Waihanga. These organisations all have work programmes affecting the management of productive land and water resources, most significantly the resource management reforms (NBEB and NPF). Overall, looking at the Natural and Built Environment (NBE) Select Committee process we feel the FWFP regulations would sit better within the proposed National Planning Framework (NPF) than within the proposed NBE Act, in order to allow the flexibility to more easily adapt the processes to inevitable change and locally targeted priorities.

TRAINING

We would like to take this time to acknowledge all those people who have taken up the challenge of studying this year. It is not easy to juggle life, work, and study commitments all at the same time, and we recognise that the last couple of years has added additional unique challenges to the mix. We applaud your efforts!

Despite these challenges, we have had record numbers attend training with us in 2022 and we plan to continue this into 2023. During 2022 we ran our largest-ever intake of the Certificate in Irrigation System Design course with 17 students taking part. We held Irrigation System Performance Assessment courses in Canterbury (February and May), Northland, and the Bay of Plenty and had the first cohort of students start on their journey working through their Cert III in Irrigation Technology in September.

This year also saw our largest-ever number of students studying for their verification and installation workbooks with over 60 registrations. This a true sign that our Blue Tick accreditation programme is strong and growing, and continuing to hold our industry up to the standards of our Water Measurement Code of Practice.

Taking time to learn something new and increase your understanding in your sector, or possibly in a new sector, is great for personal growth and a very rewarding experience. If you are interested in taking up some study in 2023, please have a look at what we offer and get in touch! As well as formal qualifications and shorter 1–2 day training sessions, we also offer a range of study modules online that can be accessed through our members-only e-learning platform at any time. Click on the red E-Learning tab on the top left of our website, have a look around, and see if there is an online course that takes your fancy.

RECOGNISED VS REGISTERED VS CERTIFIED. WHAT’S IN A NAME?

It is great seeing so many candidates passing through our NZ Certificate of Irrigation Design programme and emerging with their NZQA certificates! I have recently been engaging with Irrigation Australia (IAL) on the activities of their Irrigation Certification Board. The IAL Certification Board sits to one side of the main IAL Board and has some parallel to the functions of our IrrigationNZ Accreditation Leadership Team and its programmes. I’ll be investigating further

where we can gain from alignment with the IAL certification processes, potentially for managing ongoing professional development and maintaining currency in our Certified Irrigation Designers.

One issue that was raised by IAL under their own regulatory development is the use of the term Registered Engineer in relation to irrigation projects. In Australia many local authorities undertake irrigation projects within a city’s urban environment or in commercial developments that fall under contracts that specify roles for professional engineers. They therefore run activities for irrigation design, installation, and sign off that aren’t necessarily in the expertise of, for example, a civil engineer.

It is interesting to see similar issues in Australia and New Zealand regarding the drafting of legislation and regulations related to role definition. The Registered Professional Engineers Act 2019 (Victoria, Australia), which commenced in 2021, prescribes five areas of engineering (fire safety, civil, structural, electrical, and mechanical). The programme requires an application, assessment, and commitment to continuous professional development, and is designed to improve engineering standards. The Act prescribes significant penalties for individuals (up to $92,000) for serious breaches.

In Queensland, where similar legislation has been in place longer, the majority of

compliance actions relate to complaints made against those who are unregistered, or misrepresenting themselves as Professional Engineers in some way. The IAL Certification Board is currently questioning the relevance of the legislation to their irrigation sector, particularly Irrigation Australia’s certification programmes, including the Certificated Irrigation Designer qualification.

Like IrrigationNZ, IAL encourages the use of Certified Irrigation Designers for design work associated with irrigation projects of any significance. However, design of irrigation systems has not traditionally been viewed as an engineering activity, and is generally undertaken without any external regulatory management or control.

An irrigation design professional would typically undertake the design of most irrigation systems while engaging where appropriate with a qualified engineer for specialised technical support (including more significant structural design activities relating to dams, channels, pontoons, major intake structures, etc).

Similarly, qualified engineers working on irrigation design projects within a local authority or major civil development such as a retirement village often engage with experienced (and hopefully certified) irrigation design professionals to gain specialised knowledge and support beyond the engineer’s level of expertise.

Participants on the Cert III in Irrigation Technology, September 2022.

In common with IAL, IrrigationNZ suggests Certified Irrigation Designers (in Australia or New Zealand) should make themselves aware of the definition of a professional engineering service, ensure they are not misrepresenting their own services, and consider when professional engineers should be engaged in relation to any particular project.

IrrigationNZ is dealing with a similar process under the NZ Building Act as it relates to the new NZ Dam Safety Regulations that were gazetted in May 2022 from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

A New Zealand dam owner (i.e. a farmer or scheme owner) is required under the regulations to determine if their structure exceeds the threshold for height and volume to see if it is a classifiable storage structure. IrrigationNZ worked with MBIE to develop a simple sizing tool for those owners who don’t know the dimensions or volume of their structures. The regulations go on to place the obligation on the owner to determine the Potential Impact Classification (PIC) of a classifiable structure in the event of a possible dam failure. This PIC is based on a downstream inundation assessment (looking at risk to life, environment, infrastructure, and cultural sites). However, only a “recognised engineer” (as determined by the Act) can sign off the owners threshold assessment and PIC certificate. Under the Act this excludes your run of the mill professional engineers who may be registered for general practice but not “recognised” as being dam safety experts.

The original Dam Safety Policy minute to Cabinet said the intent was that low-risk structures like farm dams and irrigation races were not intended to be burdened under the

regulations. The original regulatory impact statement suggested there were only about 900 at-risk structures (medium to high PIC) in New Zealand that needed attention under a dam safety assurance programme, and that there would be capacity within the New Zealand professional engineering body to provision the number of recognised dam engineers. However, our probing through those involved with the original dam inventory would suggest that there are in the order of 5000+ dam structures that exceed the threshold as classifiable structures. Many of these previously unaccounted for structures will sit in the rural environment and will be small with a low PIC. This count does include individual canal sections (these are assessed as storage elements between each drop structure).

It is these mostly low-risk structures that the Minister for Building suggested should not be impacted, but we believe they are, unfortunately! The way the regulations have been written, even low impact farm structures are required to be signed off by engaging a recognised engineer. Further, what only became apparent in the guidance to the regulations is that the Building Act that sits above the regulations also requires recertification every five years to ensure the PIC hasn’t changed. Dam owners who don’t get a PIC signed off and every five years thereafter will be in breach of the regulations which take effect in May 2024.

This is the unintended consequence of uncoordinated legislation. A PIC can’t be signed off under the proposed Freshwater Farm Plan legislation (under Ministry for the Environment) or the Rural Drinking Water regulations (under Department of Internal Affairs) or within the On Farm Advisory Service (under Ministry of Primary Industries); these require different set of “certified”, “qualified” or “trained” rural professionals to come up the driveway, potentially to look at the very same structures related to water.

IrrigationNZ is continuing to advocate for sensible legislation and closer coordination of those developing regulations that impact irrigation infrastructure.

TE WAIHANGA ASSET MANAGEMENT STATE OF PLAY REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

IrrigationNZ has engaged with Te Waihanga, the NZ Infrastructure Commission, on helping inform its Asset Management State of

Play Project which is being conducted across 2022–23. Irrigation infrastructure is part of an ongoing conversation regarding how it fits within a national critical lifeline definition related to food supply security. This is not only following extreme events such as floods and seismic activity, but also through ongoing risk assessment associated with the likes of climate change and population growth.

Te Waihanga has commissioned the State of Play project to report on the maturity of asset management in New Zealand by Q2 2023. The purpose is to gather, assess, and report data on the baseline asset management performance of the infrastructure system, and to examine the regulatory frameworks, funding incentives, capabilities, and organisational behaviours that drive our infrastructure outcomes.

Infrastructure, including irrigation, supports the lives and wellbeing of New Zealanders – it includes the networks that service our homes with power, water, and waste removal; our communications and transport networks; our networks of hospitals and schools; and many other services that support our wellbeing and economy, including the agri-sector.

Our infrastructure must keep pace with and address many challenges – including responding to changes in our population and its distribution, to climate change, and to rising construction costs. However, the biggest single challenge we’ll face is the cost of repairing or replacing infrastructure that’s wearing out.

Much of the infrastructure we need today is already in existence – the foresight, decisions, and labour of our forebears has built us a strong foundation. It’s a legacy that we have a duty to look after by maintaining and replacing where necessary so future New Zealanders also benefit.

While much of our critical infrastructure is owned and looked after by public institutions – central government agencies and entities, and local councils – this is not the case for irrigation infrastructure.

The Te Waihanga project has identified that there isn’t enough information available together in one place to tell us much about asset management capability or performance – we can’t really say how well we’re doing across our asset owners and operators.

Te Waihanga is asking leading practitioners and stakeholders in each sector and in representative industry bodies about their

Dam in a vineyard, Wairarapa.

experiences and insights, as part of developing this State of Play of Asset Management in New Zealand.

IrrigationNZ is canvassing its members to help inform what the state of asset management practice is today in order to help improve all aspects of our system – learning what’s working well and delivering the best value from our assets, and where things are not working well, learning why this is and how they could be improved.

CODES OF PRACTICE UPDATES

The team at IrrigationNZ continues to work on updating our resources and is pleased to announce updates to both The New Zealand Piped Irrigation System Performance Assessment Code of Practice and The New Zealand Water Measurement Code of Practice.

Both updates can be found by visiting our website and viewing ‘Codes of Practice’ under ‘Practical Resources’.

We have two documents next in the queue for review.

The first task is updating our Guidance on Irrigation System Commissioning. Commissioning is a process by which agreement is reached that the installed system meets the design performance specifications. It is really important, as the purchaser, to check that the machine being installed is as per the design specifications. While a bucket test is useful to determine general system performance, the results produced are only indicative. Instead, a more comprehensive procedure should be undertaken that includes pressure and flow testing.

The other document up for review is the IrrigationNZ Technical Glossary, including a close look at some of the handy formulas our designers use. We are aware of some inconsistencies between the Technical Glossary and the Design or Performance Assessment Codes of Practice. Our aim is to ensure accuracy and consistency in our review outcomes.

The importance of pressure readings –mission impossible

By Vicky Bloomer, Drop Consulting

During the past year I have had the privilege of delivering training to future irrigation system performance assessors. This has seen me visiting properties in the Canterbury, Hawke’s Bay, and Bay of Plenty regions. Stephen McNally has also delivered training in Northland. This training has also meant that I have read over 100 assignments. So, what is my biggest concern and observation while visiting these farms and reading these assignments?

Pressure gauges. Or rather, a lack of functional pressure gauges on site. We teach performance assessors to take pressure readings taken at the discharge side of the pump, the entry to the main line, and at the pivot centre or hydrant. These are critical measurements for understanding performance assessment results. Buckets are only one part of an assessment, yet frequently we lazily call performance assessment a “bucket test”. This draws our attention to the buckets, and we lose sight of the bigger picture.

It is like water meter verifications; a poor verifier will tell you if the meter passed or failed. A quality verifier will tell you why it failed and how to fix it. A quality performance assessment will do the same. If we only look at bucket volumes and distribution uniformity (DU), we will see the variation, but really all the data tells us is, “Do I have a Problem? Yes/No”.

Obtaining pressure readings and comparing these against design key performance indicators (KPIs) tells us so much more and allows us to begin to isolate problems. If the pressures and flows meet the design KPIs but the DU is poor, it tells us there is something wrong with the outlet (sprinklers/ nozzles) or how the system is being positioned, i.e. a lack of overlap for movable systems.

Pressures that do not meet design KPIs tell us something is going wrong hydraulically. Taking multiple measurements allows us to isolate the problem. For example, if the pump is producing expected pressures but entry to the mainline is too low, then something is happening across the headworks – is a control valve not operating correctly, or is a filter blocked?

Low pressures at the end of drip micro lines but expected pressures at the hydrant indicate pressure loss down the lines themselves – are they blocked or are there now too many leaks and it’s time to replace the lateral?

A lack of pressure between the mainline entry and a control valve point could be due to either undetected leaks, increased friction from pipe corrosion, or the wrong size pipe used during design and installation.

Of course, it may be that the pump itself is no longer performing as it should. Having a gauge on the pump outlet allows us to track performance over time. Tracking this allows us to make decisions about pump servicing and replacement. Fixing things prior to the irrigation season allows us to avoid system breakdowns when we need water most.

So, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to head to the pump shed and look at that pressure gauge. Is it still there? Does it work? Is it readable? If it’s none of those things, pop down to see your local irrigation supplier and make the $50 investment to replace it. Buy a spare or two, and a pressure test needle so you can test pressures elsewhere in the system.

Measuring real-time nitrogen loss in cropping

Measuring real-time nitrogen (N) leaching from a tile-drained Hawke’s Bay onion field

Why: To compare data from a nitrate sensor installed in situ with data from grab samples, and to establish if in situ measurements could be used as a reliable source of information to enable real-time modification of good agricultural practices so as to reduce nitrate leaching losses.

Where: Vegetable paddock on the Heretaunga Plains, Hawke’s Bay.

Who: Jamie Thompson (Ravensdown), Chris Zuierwijk (Bostock), and Bruce Searle (Plant & Food Research).

What:

• The data showed a strong linear relationship between the N concentration measured by a TriOS Nico nitrate sensor and in the grab sample. This indicates that the sensor can provide a good indication of sump nitrate-N concentrations, and that with calibration the accuracy can be improved further.

• The ability to measure real-time nitrate concentrations in the drainage water provided data showing clear links between management practices, rainfall events, and N leaching.

• Both modelling and real-time data also showed that modified agricultural practices can reduce nitrate losses to groundwater, through reducing the depth of irrigation, applying smaller but more frequent fertiliser applications through the growing season, and using catch crops.

Read more: ourlandandwater.nz

Research showed it was possible to measure and reduce nitrogen (N) loss in real-time from a vegetable production paddock in the Hawke’s Bay. How effective would a cover crop be in soaking up excess N from the paddock over winter?

In 2020, grower Chris Zuierwijk planted up a final conventional crop of onions on a 16 hectare (ha) paddock near Clive on the Heretaunga Plains of Hawke’s Bay. When the crop was lifted in January 2021 the paddock would see the end of conventional inputs and synthetic fertilisers.

The conversion from conventional vegetable production to an organic system was undertaken by Bostock New Zealand. It was an opportunity not to be missed for Ravensdown consultant Jamie Thompson. While it was known rain and irrigation events were having an effect on the mass of nitrates leaching from fertiliser applied to paddocks, knowing how much was being lost and when was important, along with how to reduce these losses.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is tightening up regulations around crop cultivation in the huge intensive export and process growing area through the introduction of Plan Change 9 (TANK). This includes minimising risks to waterways from nutrient loss, by requiring hundreds of horticultural growers in the area to develop management plans that identify and address these risks.

In 2020 Jamie undertook an initial six-month project with funding from the Our Land and Water Rural Professionals Fund. The investigation used real-time monitoring to measure N losses from drainage after rainfall and irrigation.,

After the results from the successful trial led to the modification of some good agricultural practices, a small amount of funding from the Rural Professionals Fund was approved to extend the project into 2021. Chris was then able to continue monitoring the paddock for another six months as he put in a winter crop of oats. This crop wouldn’t receive any fertiliser and it was intended to see how much soil N it would soak up.

The paddock’s story so far

Poorly draining, the paddock had dense clay-rich subsoil sitting about 50 cm below the soil surface, along with a high water table in winter.

Tile-and-mole-drained, all the drains in the paddock lead to a single sump where Jamie installed a TriOS Nico nitrate sensor. This measures nitrate-N concentrations in wells and sumps.

By taking collected samples immediately for lab testing, this showed how accurate the sensor was in real-time, as well as the effects of irrigation and wet weather events on N leaching.

Soil samples were collected when the crop was planted, and when the crop had finished samples were sent to Analytical Research Laboratories (ARL) in Napier for analysis.

After the onions were planted fertiliser was applied four times, approximately a month apart, with a total of 153 kg of N applied per hectare. Decagon sensors at the front and back of the field gauged the amount of moisture in the soil every two hours at 15, 30 and 60 cm depths, with two flow meters recording weekly drainage.

Hourly readings were taken by the TriOS Nico nitrate sensor in the sump, with a weekly sample taken to ARL and the nitrate concentration measured. Twenty onions from the final crop were taken to ARL to measure their N content.

Sensor results similar to grab samples

There was 113 kg/ha of mineral N in the soil at planting, with 86 kg/ha remaining in the soil (mostly near the surface) when the onions were lifted.

The sump sensor and weekly sampling showed some nitrate leaching whenever it rained, with losses of about 0.16 kg/ha each week. A big downpour in November, within a week of fertiliser going on, saw a huge spike with 3.7 kg/ha of N lost in a week.

Leaching stayed high, gradually decreasing through to the end of cropping, with a couple more spikes from irrigation. A total of 9 kgN/ ha was measured eventually leaching off the paddock (Figure 1).

The TriOS Nico nitrate sensor and the grab samples showed similar results, with the sensor showing levels about 8 percent higher than lab results and a clear link between management practices, rain events and leaching. Calibrating the sensor would give more accurate real-time nitrate losses.

This would enable farmers to decide if they wanted to reduce the depth of each irrigation, use smaller fertiliser applications, and increase the number of applications through the growing season.

The potential increase in estimated concentration of carbon dioxide calculated from known TVOC concentration (eCO2) due to running machinery would be a consideration, as it was for this next phase of the project.

Confidence in the TriOS Nico nitrate sensor being accurate saw the second phase of the trial begin.

The story continues

Of the remaining N in the soil after the onion crop was raised, 80 percent was in the top 30 cm. Data from the sump sensors continued to come in and weekly samples continued to be tested.

N leaching dropped to almost negligible levels once the onions were lifted in January, with no irrigation and no heavy rain until late June. By this time the oats had been in the ground for three months without any fertiliser. They were mulched in early July and turned into the soil three weeks later when the paddock was ploughed. There were two heavy rain events around this time, which saw some leaching but substantially less than before.

OverseerFM was then used to model several scenarios to see what difference there would be to greenhouse gas emissions by leaving the land to lie fallow compared to planting it up in oats.

It found 23 kg/ha leached from the paddock over the year. The oats would have soaked up 18 kg/ha, reducing N leaching to just 5 kg/ha for the year. Greenhouse gases increased with the oats scenario by 25 percent.

“Because the ground is so waterlogged over winter, turning the oats in would have seen nitrous oxide emissions increase, along with emissions from tractor use,” said Jamie. Growers need to carefully consider the effects of trade-offs between nitrate losses and greenhouse gas emissions.

“The project has been very successful,” he says. “The results of the initial project saw a lot of interest in the technology, and installing sump sensors is now likely to become more standard practice.”

Zespri has shown interest in installing sensors on kiwifruit orchards, and there has been interest from national agriculture and horticulture consultancy business AgFirst.

Jamie is hopeful that tracking N losses in real-time will raise people’s game and lead to improved management practices.

By Delwyn Dickey for the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge

Figure 1: Nitrate concentrations in drainage water relative to rainfall and management events including irrigation.

There was 113 kg/ha of mineral N in the soil at planting, with 86 kg/ha remaining in the soil when the onions were lifted.

For the love of lilies –flower growing business goes full circle

Working a nursing night shift, Tessa McIntosh thought she would like to turn her passion for gardening into a job. This has become a reality, and she has nearly completed her first year in the business.

Lilyfields Hakatere is based just south of Ashburton, Canterbury. They specialise in growing beautiful lilies, and also sell tulips, peonies, and spring bulbs. Tessa and her husband Wayne McIntosh purchased the business in July 2022, however, it had been in the family well before that.

Originally called Dunhampton Lilyfields it was brought to the Mid­Canterbury area in the 1970s by Stuart and Maidie McIntosh (Wayne’s grandparents), who ran it from their Willowby farm near Ashburton. The Keast family were the next owners, moving Lilyfields to the small village of Mt Somers. The Millichamp family followed, with David and Wendy Millichamp taking over from David’s parents.

After running Mt Somers Lilyfields successfully for 27 years, Wendy and David are now semi­retired and Lilyfields has returned to the McIntosh family. Tessa and

Wayne changed the business name to Lilyfields Hakatere, which reflects the move to their small farm near Lake Hood and the Hakatere/Ashburton River.

This summer has been their first time welcoming customers to their farm open days. This gives them the opportunity to showcase their small­scale display garden

and help people decide which bulbs to purchase.

“It has been really great to welcome people and show them around. It is quite a long time waiting for bulbs to grow so it is nice to reflect on what we have achieved.”

Tessa, who still works two days a week as a nurse, said she learned a lot about gardening when growing up, and has certainly had to learn a lot more since buying the business.

“There are growers around the area that have been a great support and have offered lots of advice.”

They have a beautiful display garden of flowers for clients to view for bulb purchasing – not for the selling of the flowers themselves. Tessa said the main activity of their business is bulb trading. The display garden includes bulbs that came with the business and varieties that have been purchased since.

Buying, growing on, and on­selling bulbs is their main earner, however, over time they will do more growing of their own as opposed to growing on, Tessa said.

Tessa McIntosh of Lilyfields Hakatere.

Lilies multiply in several ways – via baby bulbs or ‘bulblets’ growing on stem roots or the stem itself, via seed, or via scales. Lily bulbs consist of multiple layers of scales (similar to garlic bulbs or artichokes) which break off naturally and produce bulblets off the broken edge. Scaling lily bulbs involves deliberately removing scales from a bulb and then following a process to encourage bulblet growth. Over time these bulbs mature, taking up to five years of growing before they are big enough to sell.

Although most of their focus is on the trading of bulbs, Tessa said they were planting 12,000 Christmas lily bulbs next month which they hope will flower in time to cut and sell this Christmas, and to have bulbs for sale in autumn 2024.

She said that although people often consider growing beautiful flowers difficult, they will grow pretty much anywhere in New Zealand.

“They like good drainage and sunshine, and don’t need a huge amount of watering.”

“We only have a small section where we are growing the flowers at the moment, but

they do require some watering. We don’t have a high­tech system, but we do have a soil moisture probe – we aim for 20–40 percent soil moisture – and it is amazing what you can do with an 18mm hose and a garden sprinkler.”

Tessa said one of their big challenges was weed and pest control. It is important to prevent the likes of aphids and thrips as they could spread diseases such as lily virus. Lily virus could cause a lot of problems as it doesn’t become apparent until the season following the one the plant has caught it.

“The next season the plant will be discoloured and unwell, and it eventually kills the bulb, so spraying for prevention is really important.”

Tessa said she gets much enjoyment out of her change in career, and it is hugely satisfying.

“Being outside is great and I love the physical nature of it. It is also exciting watching them grow through the ground, then start to develop flower buds, and thinking ‘I might get a flower

tomorrow’. Then the next day you all of a sudden see it!”

As for the future, they plan to have a small peony and daffodil display garden and have recently built a nursery. Tessa laughed when she said, “We’ve got lots of planning to do, and big ideas, but we just need to get our heads around the lilies first”.

Drinking water supply rules

In the wake of Havelock North’s 2016 campylobacteriosis outbreak, sweeping changes have been made to drinking water supply rules. The responsibility for regulation now lies with the newly-formed independent water regulator Taumata Arowai. There are two important changes: the first, which impacts regional councils, is the need to define source water risk management areas (SWRMAs). The second is that water suppliers need to develop source water risk management plans to assess risks to their supply within these areas. The main change for farmers and growers is that if they supply others they will be classified as a small supplier by Taumata Arowai, and hence have a duty to ensure that the water they supply is safe.

From a farmer’s/land owner’s point of view, the changes are in two main areas:

• Where land they farm lies within a SWRMA and may be subject to land use restrictions in the future, or where their own SWRMA may restrict land use.

• If you own or operate a water supply that provides drinking water to more than one household, then you are considered a drinking water supplier under the Water Services Act 2021 and have to register and comply with the new rules about supplying drinking water.

We caught up with Dr Helen Rutter to find out more about this.

DR HELEN RUTTER

Helen has over 30 years of experience in hydrogeological research and investigation. Helen’s expertise is in both water quality and quantity (including that of groundwater), resource assessment, recharge processes, groundwater flooding, and catchment characterisation. She is the business unit manager for the Water and Land team at Aqualinc and is a principal hydrogeologist. She has worked here since 2007, and previously worked for the British Geological Survey in the UK.

Why is water management important to you?

It is important to manage our water resources. The areas of interest to me are the quality and quantity of freshwater (the water in our aquifers and rivers) and drinking water quality. It’s vital to ensure that people have access to clean and safe drinking water, and we need to improve our groundwater and surface waters generally. Freshwater quality issues are often driven by nutrient concentrations (i.e. nitrates and phosphorous) that cause excess weed growth and are potentially toxic to fish and other species. The main concern for drinking water is often microbial contamination. In both cases we need to better understand transport

processes – the way that nutrients or microbes get transported through aquifers and into wells or surface waters.

What has been your involvement with Taumata Arowai and SWRMAs?

Taumata Arowai and source water risk management mapping are two separate things. Taumata Arowai is the new regulator tasked with implementing and monitoring the new rules under the Water Services Act. Effectively, they are trying to ensure that water suppliers provide safe drinking water. We are working increasingly with Taumata Arowai to help water suppliers fulfil their obligations. Alongside the Water Services Act is an ongoing review of the Drinking Water National Environmental Standards (DW-NES). The DW-NES will require regional councils to map out SWRMAs, with the intention of managing land use activities within them in order to minimise risks to water supplies. So Taumata Arowai ensures that water suppliers are doing their bit to supply safe drinking water, and the DW-NES and regional councils have a role in defining and possibly controlling land use activities within areas that surround drinking water supplies.

The legislation is in place, but when will it affect rural landowners?

In terms of becoming a small water supplier, suppliers will have to register their supply by November 2025 and comply with all the rules by November 2028, unless they were already

“ In terms of becoming a small water supplier, suppliers will have to register their supply by November 2025 and comply with all the rules by November 2028, unless they were already registered as a supplier as of 15 November 2021, in which case they must now be compliant. ”

registered as a supplier as of 15 November 2021, in which case they must now be compliant. Irrespective of whether they are registered or not, all water suppliers have an immediate duty of care to provide safe drinking water.

In terms of the potential effects of land use within an SWRMA, there are no clear timelines. In some cases regional councils still have to define SWRMAs, and then consider what land use activities within them need to be controlled. More details about this are likely to emerge once the DW-NES are finalised.

What sort of thing will they have to do to become compliant? Does it only affect new land use consents?

Those supplying water to anyone outside their own household will be deemed a small supplier. The requirements (in terms of protecting the supply, distribution, treatment, and sampling) will vary according to specific circumstances. For many farmers, as long as they are supplying less than 25 people they fall into the small suppliers category, and the requirements are fairly basic, mainly around sampling the water at least every six months. Other suppliers may be able to use one of the Taumata Arowai “Acceptable Solutions” which are a simplified set of solutions for roof supplies, bore supplies, or small agricultural supplies.

Regarding SWRMAs and what may be restricted within them, things are still very much up in the air as the DW-NES have not yet been finalised. There will be guidance on this.

What is the interaction with the regulator Taumata Arowai?

As a water supplier, you will need to register your supply through the Taumata Arowai website and you will have to comply with the requirements of a small supplier. Taumata Arowai have developed templates for those that need a water safety plan. It is critical to understand that whether you are registered or not, you have a duty of care to supply safe drinking water.

What have been the challenges of this process and legislation? Do you think the long-term outcome will be beneficial?

The Water Services Act passed unopposed in Parliament. It was seen to be a necessary piece of legislation due to the high burden of water-borne illness on human health in New Zealand. However, implementation comes with many challenges. Taumata Arowai (in consultation with many organisations, including IrrigationNZ) have tried to make the process as simple as possible for very small suppliers, so that the financial and time burdens are kept to a minimum.

There will be many challenges along the way but the outcome should be much more reliable and safe sources of drinking water for many people. Given the fact that tens of thousands of New Zealanders get sick every year from water-borne illnesses, these changes are clearly needed.

Seasonal climate outlook March–May 2023

OUTLOOK SUMMARY

La Niña is expected to transition to ENSO-neutral during March. For Aotearoa New Zealand, this transition is expected to result in more variable air flow, temperature, and rainfall patterns during autumn. Low pressure will occur more frequently over the Tasman Sea and the South Island during March, leading to spells of westerly winds – a distinctive change from summer. These westerly winds, while not dominant, will bring some more typical cold fronts. Low pressure systems to the western side of both islands are expected to produce rainfall that will gradually ease long-term rainfall deficits in the west and south of the South Island. Rainfall is equally likely to be near normal or above normal in the east of the North Island and most likely to be near normal in all other regions. This represents a drier signal compared to previous outlooks, but the remnant effect of La Niña could still produce some sub-tropical and/or tropical low-pressure systems, occasionally increasing the risk for heavy rain in the North Island. While seasonal temperatures are most likely to be above average in the west of the South

Island and about equally likely to be near average or above average in all other regions, cold spells will become more common, such as during early-to-mid March. The seasonal transition to autumn will also be accompanied by an increasing risk for frosts. Coastal sea surface temperatures (SSTs) ranged from 0.4˚C to 2.9˚C above average during February. A marine heatwave continued near the South Island, which was strongest in the west. Soil moisture levels are about equally likely to be near normal or above normal in the north and east of the North Island, most likely to be near normal in the west of the North Island and below normal in the west of the South Island, and about equally likely to be near normal or below normal in the north and east of the South Island.

River flows are most likely to be above normal in the north and east of the North Island, below normal in the west of the South Island, about equally likely to be near normal or above normal in the west of the North Island, and about equally likely to be near normal or below normal in the north and east of the South Island.

As the irrigation season winds down, autumn is a great time to take the chance to upskill your knowledge of your system.

REGIONAL PREDICTIONS

Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty

• Temperatures are equally likely to be near average (45 percent chance) or above average (45 percent chance).

• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). While this represents a drier signal compared to previous outlooks, the remnant effect of La Niña could still produce some sub-tropical and/or tropical low pressure systems that could track near the region, occasionally increasing the risk for heavy rain.

• Soil moisture levels are equally likely to be near normal (45 percent chance) or above normal (50 percent chance) while river flows are most likely to be above normal (50 percent chance).

Central North Island, Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu, Wellington

• Temperatures are equally likely to be near average (45 percent chance) or above average (45 percent chance).

• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). An increase in westerly winds during mid-March may see more frequent fronts reach the region.

• Soil moisture levels are most likely to be near normal (50 percent chance) while river flows are about equally likely to be near normal (45 percent chance) or above normal (40 percent chance).

Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa

• Temperatures are about equally likely to be near average (40 percent chance) or above average (45 percent chance).

• Rainfall totals are equally likely to be near normal (40 percent chance) or above normal (40 percent chance). The remnant effect of La Niña could still see some sub-tropical and/or tropical low-pressure systems track near the region, occasionally increasing the risk for heavy rain.

• Soil moisture levels are about equally likely to be near normal (45 percent chance) or above normal (50 percent chance) while river flows are most likely to be above normal (50 percent chance).

Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough, Buller

• Temperatures are about equally likely to be near average (40 percent chance) or above average (45 percent chance). Spells of cooler air are likely in early-to-mid March.

• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). The remnant effect of La Niña could see a sub-tropical and/or tropical moisture plume reach the region at some point during the season, particularly in Marlborough.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal (45 percent chance) or below normal (40 percent chance).

West Coast, Alps and foothills, inland Otago, Southland

• Temperatures are most likely to be above average (55 percent chance). Marine heatwave conditions continued in February, increasing the odds for above average autumn air temperatures. However, spells of cooler air are likely in early-to-mid March.

• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). During March, an increase in westerly winds will likely bring more frequent fronts and low-pressure systems to the west and south of the South Island, easing some of the recent rainfall deficits.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be below normal (45–50 percent chance).

Coastal Canterbury, east Otago

• Temperatures are about equally likely to be near average (40 percent chance) or above average (45 percent chance each). Spells of cooler air are likely in early-to-mid March.

• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance). An increase in westerly winds will see some dry spells develop during the season, but the remnant effect of La Niña will still result in onshore wind flows and rain at times.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal (45 percent chance) or below normal (40–45 percent chance).

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.

Closing out your irrigation season as we head into winter

As winter approaches, irrigated farmers and growers must prepare for the season by reviewing their irrigation systems and making necessary adjustments. At IrrigationNZ, we understand the importance of maintaining a fully functioning irrigation system. We encourage irrigators to start preparing for winter now.

Freezing is one of the most significant threats to irrigation systems during the winter season, particularly in colder inland regions. Water left in above-ground pipes and equipment can freeze. As water freezes it expands, potentially damaging pipes and other components. To prevent this, irrigators must drain all water from the system and ensure that pipes and equipment are vented properly. Additionally, above-ground components can be insulated against the cold to minimise damage, ensuring that the system is ready to use again in the spring.

Winter is an ideal time to conduct repairs and maintenance on irrigation systems. Irrigators have the opportunity to identify and address any issues that may have arisen during the past season, including repairing damaged pipes and equipment, replacing wornout components, and conducting routine maintenance tasks such as cleaning filters and checking for leaks. By addressing these issues now irrigators can ensure that their irrigation systems are in top condition when needed.

In addition to protecting against freezing damage, it is important to consider the potential for wind damage during winter and spring storms. Strong winds can cause aboveground irrigation components to become loose or even be blown over, which can result in costly repairs and downtime. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended for pivots and other above-ground large irrigation equipment to properly and securely point, park, and anchor. It may be necessary to position irrigation systems in a sheltered down-wind direction to minimise the impact of strong winds. Taking these additional steps can further safeguard irrigation systems during the winter months.

Another opportunity that can be taken over the winter season is the crucial reviewing of irrigation water use data. This information can provide valuable insights into the efficiency of the irrigation system and help identify areas where improvements can be made. By analysing this data irrigators can make informed decisions about how to optimise their irrigation systems, potentially saving water, lowering energy consumption, and reducing costs.

Reflecting on changes to irrigation management plans for the next season is an essential part of good management practices. By evaluating the successes and challenges of the past season irrigators can identify areas

where changes may be needed in order to optimise efficiency and effectiveness. This could include adjusting irrigation schedules, using different irrigation methods, or implementing new technologies to improve water management.

At IrrigationNZ we recognise the importance of good winter season work plans to the long-term effectiveness and productivity of irrigation systems. By taking the necessary steps to protect and maintain these systems irrigators can ensure that they are ready to use when needed, thus avoiding costly downtime during irrigation season. We encourage irrigators to work with irrigation professionals to ensure that their systems are serviced properly and that any necessary repairs or upgrades are completed to the highest standard.

In conclusion, optimising the efficiency and effectiveness of irrigation systems is an essential part of ensuring their long-term health and productivity. By protecting against freezing damage, conducting repairs and maintenance, reviewing past water use data, and reflecting on changes to management plans, farmers can prepare their irrigation systems for the upcoming season. At IrrigationNZ, we remain committed to providing farmers with the support and resources they need to make the most of their irrigation systems, both now and in the future.

(Photo: Sam Anderson)

Advertise in the

IrrigationNZ News is a quarterly magazine published by IrrigationNZ, a membership-funded national industry body that promotes excellence in irrigation. The magazine is dedicated to topical information and expert advice on all issues associated with irrigation and freshwater management. IrrigationNZ News aims to:

• Provide news and information on the challenges and opportunities facing water users across all sectors and throughout New Zealand.

• Add value for individual irrigators’, scheme and irrigation industry businesses.

• Improve the general level of knowledge of good management practice by encouraging a culture of continuous improvement to contribute to positive economic, socio-cultural and environmental outcomes.

• Highlighting the value of irrigation to the wider economy and community of New Zealand.

OUR READERS

Advertising in IrrigationNZ News is a direct link to those who irrigate across all sectors – arable, meat & wool, dairy, horticulture, viticulture and other – as well as industry, consultants, engineers, scientists, politicians, central and local government, education sector and students.

AVAILABLE IN BOTH PRINT & ONLINE

Printed copies of IrrigationNZ News are delivered to IrrigationNZ members, government officials, plus consent holders in the Canterbury region.

IrrigationNZ share and promote the online issue through our social channels and in our regular e-newsletter, NewsSplash. Enhance your marketing by including clickable links in the digital format, so readers can head to your site or store, directly from your advert.

Advertise right here in the IrrigationNZ News to connect with your target audience.

Take advantage of our annual advertising packages to receive a 5% discount.

Further opportunities such as advertorials, promotional inserts, sponsorship and online promotions are also available.

Contact IrrigationNZ News editor, Ella Stokes, to discuss:

Phone 027 208 6371

Email estokes@irrigationnz.co.nz

How we irrigate in New Zealand

6.63% DRIP/ MICRO 3.70% FLOOD/BORDER

31.53% OTHER

2017 to 2019

IRRIGATION IN NZ BY SYSTEM TYPE 2019

PIVOTS/

LINEAR

58.14%

0 2017 2019 2017 2019 2017 2019 2017 2019 100,000 IRRIGATED LAND AREA (HECTARES) TOTAL

IRRIGATED LAND BY IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN NZ (2017–2019)

THE WISDOM TO MINIMISE BREAKDOWNS, AND MAXIMISE PERFORMANCE.

COULD YOU BE WISER WITH YOUR WATER?

With more than 30 years of industry knowledge and technical expertise, our technicians have the experience it takes to identify the smallest of problems to avoid major breakdowns during the dry summer months.

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Talk to our team today about the latest water-saving technologies, and how we can help future-proof your business against the uncertainties of water.