IrrigationNZ News Spring 2020

SPRING 2020

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CONTENTS REGULARS

FEATURES

4

From the Chair: Keri Johnstone

10

New CEO for Water New Zealand

5

From the Chief Executive: Elizabeth Soal

12

Action for Healthy Waterways: Summary of policies, regulations, and timeline

6

IrrigationNZ: Out & About 16

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View from Here: Election 2020 – freshwater priorities

Champions Series: Eric and Maxine Watson

18

Champions Series: Michael Watson

10

View from There: Jeremy Fisher, Australia

39

IrrigationNZ Risk Partner: FMG

COVER: FROM PADDOCK TO BOTTLE

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Malting barley, Tim Cookson

22

From barley to malt: Gladfield Malt

44 IrrigationNZ Banking Partner: ANZ

25

The final product: Two Thumbs Brewery

46 Seasonal Climate Outlook: September–November 2020

29 Project update from IrrigationNZ

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32

Water – more than just meets the eye

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Champions Series: Jane Strang, Clifton Falls Walkway Project

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Champions Series: Sandy Cameron

Product & Services Directory

49 Irrigation in Pictures: What irrigation is used for in New Zealand

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21

40 Stay safe this irrigation season 41

Northland water storage

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Renewable energy prospect gets funding boost

48 3D aquifer mapping 50 Three waters needs joint approach

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COVER STORY: 21 SPRING 2020 IRRIGATION NZ NEWS

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FROM THE CHAIRWOMAN

Editor: Ella Stokes Mobile 027 208 6371 Email estokes@irrigationnz.co.nz Advertising: Email admin@irrigationnz.co.nz Administration & Subscriptions: Email admin@irrigationnz.co.nz Irrigation New Zealand PO Box 69119, Lincoln 7640 Design:

Rosie Fenton

Printing:

Caxton Press

Distribution: New Zealand Post Cover Photo: Ella Stokes IrrigationNZ News is published by Irrigation New Zealand Inc four times a year in March, June, September and December.

The circulation includes all IrrigationNZ members. The opinions expressed in IrrigationNZ News do not necessarily reflect the views of Irrigation New Zealand Inc. 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.

ISSN 2230-5181

www.irrigationnz.co.nz 4

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IRRIGATION NZ NEWS SPRING 2020

Channelling change in changing times The last time I wrote this column, we were in the throes of heading into lockdown for Covid-19, and lo and behold, after 102 days of community-free transmission, the country is back into Level 2 restrictions, with Auckland having just come out of Level 3.

Covid-19 has had, and will continue to have, a massive impact on New Zealand.

At IrrigationNZ, we certainly felt its effects, and the cancellation of our conference was testament to that. We have reset, refocused, and are looking to the future.

The restructure we embarked on is now complete. I want to sincerely thank all of the IrrigationNZ team for really engaging in the process. The feedback we received was invaluable.

We are now in the process of seeking a new CEO and support staff, as well as a new home in Wellington. I look forward to being able to update you on that as we progress.

A new role for the organisation is the Regional Policy and Planning Manager. As you know, Elizabeth Soal will take up the position at the beginning of October 2020.

Advocacy work in the regions for the benefit

of the organisation and its members is part of this role. It is also about the development of strong, functional relationships with staff, members and stakeholders, including regional councillors, other primary sector and water-related policy and planning staff, regional council policy and planning staff, iwi and hapū, irrigation schemes, and other key decision-makers and influencers at the regional level. It will also extend support at a regional level for water storage and infrastructure projects. This role will connect our regions with what is happening nationally and enable us to engage more effectively with all of our members around New Zealand.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Stay safe.

Ngā mihi.

Keri Johnston Chair of IrrigationNZ

FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Water policy still a critical issue They say a week is a long time in politics, but how about two or three?

As I write this column, the election is still a few weeks away, but it will be right around the corner when you’re reading this. Given the pace of political upheaval and the constant stream of outrage in our newsfeeds, it’s hard to know how much will have changed in just that short space of time.

However, the importance of water policy and in getting it correct for this and future generations remains constant. Across the political spectrum, the importance of planning the use and management of this precious resource is agreed. The detail on how that is best done, less so.

IrrigationNZ has been consistent in our messaging with the government and

those in opposition – as a country we need more storage, we need an overarching water strategy to guide decision-making, we need a resolution to Māori rights and interests, and we need a robust and effective allocation framework for freshwater.

These are the core tenets of our 2020 Election Manifesto. We feel that without addressing these key areas, we will not realise the potential that irrigation brings to our horticultural and agricultural sectors, we will not be supporting our regional economies and the Māori economy, and we will not be providing resilience for our communities under climate change scenarios.

As communities face record-breaking droughts, followed in short order by recordbreaking floods, it is clear that we must act now.

Water infrastructure issues don’t get solved once, they must be addressed as a continuous process in light of changed circumstances.

Irrigation is absolutely critical for New Zealand to be able to grow and produce high quality food and fibre for ourselves, and for discerning overseas markets.

Have a read of what the major political parties and groups think about these issues, and make sure you have your say on election day.

Watch this space.

Elizabeth Soal Chief Executive, IrrigationNZ

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SPRING 2020 IRRIGATION NZ NEWS

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IrrigationNZ: out & about SPRING IS HERE – TIME TO CHECK YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM! September brings longer days and warmer weather, as well as being peak calving and lambing season for many. Now is a good time to check your irrigation system is ready for the coming season. Find some advice on page 40 from one of our experts!

TELLING THE STORY We have been busy gathering stories and information for our exciting ‘Know Your Catchment’ Dashboard. Go to page 32 to find out more.

IRRIGATIONNZ IN WELLINGTON COVID-19 has yet again put a stop to some of our travel plans. However, IrrigationNZ Chairwoman Keri Johnston still managed to get to Wellington for the Food and Fibre leaders Forum to meet Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Finance Minister Shane Jones, Minister for the Environment David Parker and Ministry for Environment (MFE) officials, regarding freshwater reforms and water management.

She also met with the National Party spokesperson for the environment Scott Simpson, on similar matters. IrrigationNZ CEO Elizabeth Soal met with MFE officials to share her experience with Farm Environment Plans and also to share the ‘Know Your Catchment’ water quality data project. She also shared the project with the Greater Wellington Regional Council. Elizabeth also had virtual meetings with Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau regarding water management; Minister for the Environment, David Parker; and ACT spokesperson for infrastructure, Simon Court.

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VIEW FROM HERE

Election 2020 – freshwater priorities Although originally set to be in September, New Zealand will now go to the polls on 17 October 2020.

If you haven’t done so already, mark it in your diary. It is the date you get to vote for the future of New Zealand’s Government. We know water is always high on the political agenda so we asked each of the major parties and other groups to supply us with some information about where they stand on water. Freshwater policy is always front of mind for IrrigationNZ and we will continue to hammer home the importance of well-informed management when it comes to decision-making around it.

DAVID BENNETT Agriculture Spokesperson, National Party Access to water is becoming a big issue. The recent demands from Auckland City for more water supply shows how this is quickly developing into a major infrastructure issue for New Zealand. Water storage is also an environmental issue as any water infrastructure needs to meet environmental outcomes.

National believes that water will be one of the key strategic resources for New Zealand in the next century.

Recently, a number of plans for growth for the primary sector have been released. First, the Fit For a Better World report projected a $44 billion doubling of primary exports, a large portion of which is accounted for

by Horticulture. Even Horticulture’s Covid Recovery Strategy places a strong emphasis on the need for water storage. To achieve New Zealand’s economic potential, we need to ensure there is appropriate water infrastructure.

Especially in a post-Covid world where our primary sector is our major exporter.

Water storage doesn’t come cheap. It requires partnering with the private sector and government, both local and central. Many projects fail from a lack of capital and often the scale is not achieved due to financial

constraints. Water infrastructure projects are notoriously difficult to get off the ground but if they can be made to work they provide enormous value.

Having reliable access to water allows land use to be converted to higher value crops, reducing nitrates and improving water quality at the same time. There needs to be a commitment for farmers, with access to water, to farm within existing limits and meet the highest environmental standards.

The current state of water use and management in New Zealand requires change to gain security for urban and rural communities across the country. We need to realise that water is our competitive advantage. To achieve this we need Central Government to take an active role. National has the track-record and the team to make these changes and to provide security for future generations.

SIMON COURT Act New Zealand Candidate – Te Atatu The COVID-19 event closed our borders and severely disrupted trade and travel, which

reinforced that a successful primary production sector is vital for our prosperity, jobs, and our food supply.

At the same time, climatic conditions produced severe droughts in the Hawkes Bay, Auckland and Northland, and water shortages affected community drinking water supplies, crops and livestock.

The 2019 National Disaster Resilience Strategy identified the risk of natural and cyclical climate variation is increased by climate change, which produces more severe storms and droughts.

New Zealand is not able to influence when events happen, but we should prepare for climate variability, which means increased resilience and capacity to maintain economic production and supply potable water, during extended periods of dry weather.

The primary production sector depends on access to safe and secure water at reasonable cost, yet there are major regulatory barriers to developing efficient and sustainable storage and transmission systems, primarily the RMA. High capital costs and long payback periods for large water storage and transmission systems, combined with the risk of failure in the Environment Court, mean that the private sector is unlikely to pursue projects without a public sector partner to underwrite much of the cost and risk.

ACT believes a partnership approach is best suited to these developments, between central and local government, the private sector, and the communities which benefit from improved resilience and economic activity.

The reforms that ACT proposes to the RMA would permit transparent trade-offs to compensate for biodiversity lost as a result of major developments, on the basis that any loss is offset with biodiversity enhancements.

This means that projects which failed at the consent stage when the discussion was limited to environment or economy, can succeed when an updated process includes a wider consideration of long-term strategic benefits.

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We need to use water more efficiently and more carefully to protect the environment we are so dependent on.

New Zealand can manage water in a way that enhances, restores, and works with nature to protect people and the planet. We have to do this because we need nature. But first nature needs us.

TOM KAY Freshwater Advocate, Forest & Bird Forest & Bird’s vision is for rivers, streams, and wetlands in Aotearoa New Zealand to be clean, healthy, and full of life. But right now, nature is at breaking point. Most lowland rivers are unsafe for swimming. Three-quarters of native freshwater fish species are listed as threatened or at risk of extinction. Droughts and floods are increasingly causing havoc across the country, sometimes one after the other as recently seen in Northland.

How we manage and use water to sustain people and the planet is a difficult discussion that we have to have, especially as we grapple with the effects of climate change.

Every extreme weather event confirms how deeply our economy, our health, and our way of life depends on a healthy environment. Climate change will affect everything we do – we need to take action to protect our environment, and our future.

There are two sides to managing our fresh water to create a better future for people and the planet.

Firstly, we need to protect water with strong rules – a robust National Policy Statement on freshwater management with bottom lines for nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to protect human health and the environment.

We need to draw a line in the sand to stop further degradation.

Secondly, we need to restore fresh water by committing to regenerative models of agriculture; to efficient irrigation and farm systems with precision technologies; to reinstating wetlands and riparian margins; to transitioning away from water-intensive land uses; and to repairing and upgrading rural and urban stormwater and wastewater treatment systems.

Irrigation has a role to play in increasing our resilience to climate change impacts, but it can only play that role alongside systems that are inherently resilient themselves.

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We know that, with climate change, we can expect more acute weather events so it’s important we help farmers and growers get their businesses ready for future drought.

Irrigation is necessary and this Government has supported the ongoing investigation and development of smaller and focussed irrigation schemes.

New Zealand can’t take water storage for granted. We will need to store water into the future.

My vision is for a resilient primary sector striving for value over volume and this means irrigation schemes must be environmentally and economically viable, with vital regional infrastructure supported by the Government.

This will provide a good balance to ensure better outcomes for all New Zealanders.

DAMIEN O’CONNOR Labour Party Minister for Agriculture Agriculture is my heritage and my passion. It is an incredible privilege to serve in a Labourled Government which is backing our primary producers for the long-term.

Access to water is vital to New Zealand’s farmers, growers and rural communities, which provide the grunt for our economy.

Water has been a particular focus for this Government – and will continue to be a focus for the Labour party.

We are interested in improving freshwater quality, something farmers and urban Kiwis agree is necessary. Doing so will help protect our farmers’ international reputation for sustainably produced food and fibre and safeguard excellent commodity prices.

We have delivered on our commitment to freshwater reforms which will stop further degradation, show material improvements within five years and restore our waterways to health within a generation.

Our country also faces huge infrastructure challenges with regard to drinking water, wastewater and stormwater. This Government has addressed that through our $761 million Three Waters stimulus and reform funding for councils.

As we rebuild the economy following the effects of a global pandemic, we have an opportunity to build back better than before and factor in resilience for our productive primary sector.

MARK PATTERSON New Zealand First Agriculture and Primary Industry Spokesperson The current COVID-19 situation has writ large the importance of our primary sector to New Zealand’s economic wellbeing. While other sectors have been devastated, agricultural and horticultural exports have cranked out yet another record year and to a large extent cushioned the economic blow.

New Zealand First believe that water storage is the single greatest opportunity to build resilience and diversify our primary sector and our rural communities.

New Zealand has enviable amounts of water and it is just plain common sense to capture at times of surplus and utilise it in times of need. This provides the opportunity to diversify into new higher returning land uses or drought proof existing operations. With the effects of climate change starting to play out in

real time this security of production has never been more important.

The challenge for our primary sector is to continue to grow value while acknowledging the ecological limitations of the status quo.

With a combination of increasingly precise irrigation systems, enhanced environmental monitoring capability and tighter regulations we now have the capacity to mitigate negative environmental impacts. It is time to have more mature discussions about water storage. In short, if we are smart we can have our cake and eat it too.

New Zealand First are proud that the Provincial Growth Fund has enabled funding of $85 million for various phases of 30 water storage or aquifer recharge projects during this term of government. With a mandate to continue we will prioritise water storage as a key driver of regional economic development.

The long term pay back and flow on to the wider community is beyond dispute and an opportunity New Zealand can ill afford to ignore.

solutions that improve water storage while looking after the environment. That includes improving soil health, protecting elite soils, restoring wetlands, and enhancing catchments health with more native plantings.

The climate crisis is likely to mean longer droughts and more intense storm events, as such retaining more water in the soil and reducing runoff matters more than ever. That’s at the heart of our plan.

Irrigation technology has come a long way in improving water use efficiency and we want to see further innovation.

The Green Party will invest in and retain public ownership of three waters infrastructure, so everyone has access to clean drinking water and we improve the quality or urban stormwater and wastewater discharges.

We will also prioritise sustainable solutions for water.

The Green Party will invest in local infrastructure for rainwater storage, and encourage household water conservation in cities and towns. We will require new buildings to include greywater recycling as part of changing to a climate-friendly Building Code.

We will support farmers to plan for climate resilient farming, and ensure Farm Environment Plans address on-farm water conservation, irrigation efficiency, and rainwater capture and storage.

JAMES SHAW

The Maori Party were invited to share their thoughts, however did not respond.

Green Party Co‑leader The Green Party is proud of the work it has done to improve the health of New Zealand’s rivers, aquifers and lakes. In Government we have strengthened the freshwater rules in the National Policy Statement Freshwater Management for towns and cities as well as rural areas, and secured significant funding to help farmers fence and plant waterways to reduce sediment and nutrient pollution through the $1.3 billion Jobs for Nature package.

We also secured an end to government subsidies for large scale irrigation schemes, since such schemes are a recipe for picking winners by giving some farmers an unfair advantage while waterways lose out due to large scale agricultural intensification.

The Green Party instead supports sensible

fication are well understood and are unambiguously evident in the increasing deterioration of water quality and quantity in an increasing number of waterways.

The reality is that big irrigation schemes have contributed significantly to the water quality crisis the country is now facing.

For example, irrigation has allowed intensive dairy farming to establish itself in unsuitable areas like Canterbury. The scale of the problem is shown by the fact that Canterbury is now using two-thirds of all New Zealand’s irrigation take and its water has become increasingly full of nitrates.

Fish & Game does support small scale water storage for the dry summer periods.

However, both the direct and indirect freshwater environmental effects must be benign.

This means it must be at no further harm to the natural environment, which has already suffered too much damage.

We know from polling that New Zealanders remain very concerned about water pollution and how careful political parties need to be in addressing this concern.

Three quarters – 76 percent – of those surveyed said they were extremely or very concerned about the pollution of lakes and rivers. Only five perent said they were not that concerned.

The only issue people were more worried about was the cost of living, with 80 percent saying they were extremely or very concerned.

This shows there is a depth of feeling Kiwis have about the loss of what they consider their birthright. All political parties are on notice that in this year’s election, Kiwis will expect to be able to swim, fish and gather food from their rivers, lakes and streams.

MARTIN TAYLOR Fish & Game Chief Executive New Zealand’s natural freshwater resources: • are finite, • are a public resource, • underpin the Kiwi outdoor lifestyle and our ‘clean green brand, and • are being polluted.

Join the conversation online Connect with us online for IrrigationNZ’s election coverage: fb.com/IrrigationNewZealand Twitter: @IrrigationNZ

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VIEW FROM THERE

Reform of the RMA: choosing the future of NZ water trading

By Jeremy Fisher. Jeremy is a lawyer and company secretary. He is a key legal advisor on large agribusiness developments and farming businesses across Australia.

New Zealand has completed a comprehensive review of the Resource Management Act (RMA), the law which has governed the allocation of water rights for almost two decades.

The Review Report includes recommendations with the potential to change markedly the way dealings in irrigation water rights are conducted.

Broadly, the Report recommends that the RMA should be repealed and replaced by a ‘Natural and Built Environments Act’, to reduce complexity and improve overall coherence of the legislation. The Report’s guiding theme is to move away from resource management to a focus on environment.

For irrigation, the details of likely change are unclear. Water permits do not receive significant attention in the Report, but it is implied that there should there be more scope for water trading, with the Report recommending: • greater use of economic instruments; and • the future legislation should ensure there is a broad mandate for the use of tradeable rights and permits.

Citing the OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: New Zealand 2017, the Report notes: • Although section 136 of the RMA enables transferability of water permits, there [has been] limited uptake of these provisions.

The Report suggests that regulatory constraints are a reason for the low uptake of market-based transfers, a conclusion consistent with more than a decade of New Zealand case law and commentary, which has highlighted tension between the RMA’s exclusion of water permits as property and the way water permits are viewed as property in other areas of law.

This is observable in Hampton v Canterbury Regional Council [2016] NZSC 50 and Aoraki Water Trust v Meridian Energy Ltd [2005] 2 NZLR 268 (HC). It is noteworthy that protracted litigation and jurisprudence involving the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court over the life of the RMA has identified, but not resolved, this contradiction.

The RMA’s replacement legislation will need to resolve this tension as demand for 10

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IRRIGATION NZ NEWS SPRING 2020

water increases. Behind the Report and beyond existing caselaw, some clues to reconciling administrative permits with market trading may be found in the OECD 2017 Review and current issues in Australian water regulation.

The OECD noted the potential for harnessing the collaborative power of New Zealand’s numerous water user groups, by which shared water permits can be issued to water user groups to manage on behalf of members. Assuming the existence of appropriate governance and internal group rules, intra-group trading has the benefit of allowing price signals to operate in a market linked to a water source, while maintaining overall regulatory and planning compliance through accountability at group level.

In similar vein, Australia’s historical structuring of irrigation governance through local irrigation trusts, co-operatives and companies, common across most State jurisdictions, has generally supported flexibility and efficiency in transfers between irrigators and overcome administrative constraints on farm business decision making evident in State-level control of irrigation allocations.

That government water licencing can be a risk to irrigated agriculture has now been recognised judicially in Western Australia, in Ord Irrigation Co-operative Ltd v Department of Water and Environmental Regulation 2020 WASAT 68, in which the State Administrative Tribunal rejected departmental submissions seeking to reduce a group-level water licence and restrict farmers’ flexibility with regard to crop choice and water use in future years.

However, the introduction of economic instruments enabling alienation of water rights from local irrigation needs has come under intense scrutiny in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Murray-Darling Basin Water Markets Interim Report (30 June 2020) provides salient insights into the consequences of embracing market mechanisms without coherent governance.

The Australian experience suggests that in any new legislation dealing with water rights, New Zealand will be well-advised to avoid the extremes of both unqualified administrative control and open marketisation, instead capitalising on local arrangements where possible.

New CEO for Water New Zealand For Water New Zealand’s new CEO, swapping a career in electricity to the water sector was easy. Gillian Blythe says it was the call of infrastructure and regulatory reform. Now she is looking forward to the challenges of the coming sea of change in Three Waters delivery and the opportunity to make a real difference.

As a child growing up in Derbyshire in England, infrastructure has always been part of Gillian Blythe’s consciousness. The daughter of a structural engineer, Ms Blythe went on to study economics at London University and one of her first pieces of research was looking at the environmental impact of large hydro dams.

From there, she completed her master’s in environmental economics and started working as an economic consultant in London, thinking about issues around climate change, ozone layers and the like. But that was back in the 1990s and “no one was paying you to do environmental work” so a natural pathway led to consultancy work in the electricity sector.

This was a time when power generation and delivery was undergoing major reform internationally and Ms Blythe found herself working on projects in places like Belarus and Uzbekistan.

“It’s quite an eye-opener when you’re sitting in someone’s kitchen in Tashkent and you realise the gas hob has been left on. So, you suggest turning it off – after all, it’s a bit dangerous – and the response is that matches are more expensive than gas.”

This, she says, is an illustration of the importance of strong investment signals.

“People respond to signals and if you don’t have information, or the right information, you can’t possibly expect to get efficient and affordable outcomes.”

It was electricity reforms that led Ms Blythe even further afield from her then-home country – down to New Zealand.

“In 1994 the Melbourne branch of the company I worked for, London Economics, had a contract with the New Zealand Government looking at restructuring the electricity sector, and creating a competitive market.

“Ultimately they got too much work so sent an SOS to London to get on the plane and come to New Zealand for seven weeks.”

It was during her seven-week stint that ECNZ offered her a one-year contract.

“I remember going back to England and being on holiday and thinking about the

opportunity and deciding that I didn’t want to get to 60 and wonder if I’d made a mistake.”

So she came back to New Zealand where she was part of a team of people looking at creating the market rules for a deregulated market-driven electricity sector.

“We helped write the rule book, it was a fascinating project.”

Then, on a personal level, came the decision about where to call home. By that stage Ms Blythe had met her future husband, also working in the electricity sector in New Zealand.

And after some consideration, the decision was made to live here permanently. Fast forward to today and Ms Blythe now lives in one of Wellington’s hillside suburbs with her husband and their two teenage boys.

Remember the Government reforms of the late 1990s that determined that ECNZ would be split into three separate state-owned enterprises? Shortly after the decision to settle more permanently in New Zealand, Ms Blythe was asked to work in the Electricity Reform Transition Unit.

“With a small group of colleagues, we worked on the split of ECNZ which formed Genesis, Meridian and Mighty River Power which is now known as Mercury.”

She said looking back at that era, and despite the controversy around the split up and deregulation, the reforms were successful.

“You’ve now got a number of different parties investing in generation, you’ve got strong retail competition. All companies, including the larger players, have to lift their game because you’ve got new entrants coming in with new offerings, new innovations.”

Ms Blythe joined Meridian post the ECNZ split, where she established and led the regulatory team through a multitude of reforms. Gillian then took on the role of Head of Strategy at Meridian for six years before finishing at the end of 2019.

Clearly, grappling with the various parts to make up the big picture is what drives Ms Blythe.

Not surprisingly, she is excited to be

coming into the water sector at a time of transition and regulatory change.

“I see the significant infrastructure investment that’s required in the New Zealand water sector and the opportunities for us all to make decisions that would have a positive difference for communities going forward.

“Water infrastructure is a long-term intergenerational investment and we need to make decisions that our grandchildren won’t regret.”

Reflecting on this must underpin our thinking, Ms Blythe said. She says Water New Zealand’s vision statement sums it up ‘Ka ora te wai, ka ora te whenua, ka ora ngā tāngata’ – ‘If the water is healthy, the land is healthy, the people are healthy’.

“We need to think about what climate change is going to mean for those parts of the country that will see an increase in flooding, or those regions with reduced rainfall that will have storage issues. Looking forward we will need to make sure that we have an appropriate balance of demand measures as well as infrastructure investments.”

“The opportunity to make a difference is there for everybody in the sector. For Water New Zealand, I think some of this is around how we can help our members tell their infrastructure story so that their decisions are well supported by science, economics, and the regulatory environment.”

“For instance, everybody in New Zealand knows someone impacted by the earthquakes, whether in Christchurch or Kaikoura. Likewise, most of us know someone affected by the Havelock North water contamination.”

“And then there is COVID-19, and we all need to be thankful for the sterling work of our essential water workers who were out there keeping water and wastewater flowing during lockdown.”

“These stories help humanise future investment needs, and why we need a regulatory regime for water.”

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Action for Healthy Waterways SUMMARY OF POLICIES, REGULATIONS, AND TIMELINE – AUGUST 2020 Recently the Government released the final policies and regulations in relation to the Action for Health Waterways, following on from the public consultation and advice of the expert advisory panel the Government appointed.

There are a range of different documents that implement these policies: • A new National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management • New National Environmental Standards for Freshwater • Stock Exclusion Regulations (under section 360 of the RMA) • Amendments to the Resource Management Act 1991.

GOVERNMENT PROCESS

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS (NES)

Please note that this summary is provided for general information purposes only. It is recommended that you seek individual, tailored advice to understand how the new rules apply to specific situation.

IrrigationNZ foresees the most significant developments for the irrigation sector being mandatory telemetry of water take data, limits on intensification, the nitrate toxicity limit, and new freshwater planning processes. See below for details.

For extensive information on the policies and regulations you can see our extended summary on our website: www.irrigationnz.co.nz/News/Advocacy/WhatWeAreWorkingOn

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT AMENDMENT

NATIONAL POLICY STATEMENT FOR FRESHWATER MANAGEMENT (NPSFM)

NAME

DETAILS

DATES

New National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, to include changes from current NPS

Clarification of what “limits” are, how they will be expressed in plans etc.

NPSFM into force on 3 September 2020, regional councils must then implement through planning instruments as soon as reasonably practicable, to be notified by 31 December 2024.

Six principles of Te Mana o te Wai have been established as well as a hierarchy of obligations to be prioritised.

Policy 1 of the NPSFM requires that freshwater be managed in a way that gives effect to Te Mana o te Wai. Councils required to actively involve tangata whenua in processes for policy and plan development and decision-making.

The compulsory value of ecosystem health has been given fuller definition, with five components: water quality, water quantity, habitat, aquatic life, and ecological processes. Water quantity limits must now be linked to ecosystem health outcomes.

Territorial authorities required to manage effects of urban land development on freshwater bodies, ecosystems, and receiving environments.

A new compulsory value for mahinga kai for regional policies and plans.

The allowance for a departure from national bottom lines now specifically applies only to the following hydro-electricty schemes: Waikato, Tongariro, Waitaki, Manapouri, and Clutha.

A range of new attributes have been added to the NPSFM. Some of these have a national bottom line: • Macroinvertebrates • Submerged plants in lakes • Dissolved oxygen • Suspended sediment • Deposited sediment • E. coli at swimming sites during the bathing season The other new values have no national bottom line: • Fish species • Ecosystem metabolism • Dissolved reactive phosphorous

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SECTION 360 REGULATIONS

IRRIGATION NZ NEWS SPRING 2020

NAME

DETAILS

DATES

New attribute limits for nitrate and ammonia toxicity

Existing national bottom lines for nitrate and ammonia toxicity attributes have been strengthened to protect 95% of species from toxic effects (expressed in milligrams per litre):

NPSFM into force on 3 September 2020, regional councils must then implement through planning instruments as soon as reasonably practicable, to be notified by 31 December 2024.

Previous annual median

New annual median

Nitrate

6.9

2.40

9.8

3.50

Ammonia

1.30

0.24

2.20

0.40

Previous annual maximum

New annual maximum

Exceptions to this will be allowed in specific vegetable-growing areas of the Pukekohe and Lake Horowhenua catchments, due to contribution to national food security (vegetable production).

Water allocation

Regional councils must include criteria within regional plans for: • Deciding applications to approve transfers of water take permits • Deciding how to improve and maximise the efficient allocation of water

Stopping further loss of natural wetlands and rivers

Regional councils must include specific policies within regional plans to protect rivers and natural inland wetlands (including mapping and monitoring) but allowing for a consenting pathway for some exceptions.

NPSFM into force on 3 September 2020, regional councils must then implement through planning instruments as soon as reasonably practicable.

Different actions affecting wetlands will have various activity statuses. Many activities which were previously allowed either with or without a resource consent depending on the region, will now all have the same status across the country.

From date regulations come into force – 3 September 2020.

Information must be provided to regional councils on the placement, alteration, extension, or reconstruction of any culverts, weirs, flap gates (passive or non-passive), dams, fords when these are in, on, or under the bed of a river or connected area.

From date regulations come into force – 3 September 2020.

Preserving connectivity of fish habitat (fish passage)

This part of the Regulations does not apply to existing structures that were in rivers or connected areas on or before 2 September 2020.

Restrictions on intensification

New restrictions on intensification now apply unless a regional council has implemented the new NPSFM. The cutting date for increases in land-use activities is 2 September 2020.

Restrictions apply until 31 December 2024.

Applicable resource consents cannot extend beyond 31 December 2030.

Discretionary activity resource consents required for: • land-use change of more than 10 ha to dairy • land-use change of more than 10 ha from plantation forestry to pastoral land-use • increases in irrigated pasture for dairy farming above 10 ha • increase in winter forage cropping area above annual highest 2014/15 – 2018/19 • increase in dairy support activities above highest annual 2014/15 – 2018/19 Cap on fertiliser application

National maximum of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser application of 190kg N/ha/yr to pastoral land (land used for the grazing of livestock) in a contiguous landholding, averaged over that land and to each hectare of that land that is not used to grow annual forage crops.

1 July 2021.

Feedlots and stock holding areas

All cattle feedlots to require resource consents, except for calves. Permeability standards, effluent controls, and siting rules for feedlots and stock-holding areas.

1 July 2021.

Continued over…

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NAME

DETAILS

DATES

Restrictions on intensification and dairy support

New restrictions on intensification now apply unless a regional council has implemented the new NPSFM. The cutting date for increases in land-use activities is 2 September 2020.

From date regulations come into force – 3 September 2020.

Discretionary activity resource consents required for: • land-use change of more than 10 ha to dairy • land-use change of more than 10 ha from plantation forestry to pastoral land-use • increases in irrigated pasture for dairy farming above 10 ha from maximum area irrigated in 12 months prior to 2 September 2020 • increases in dairy support land that hasn’t been used as dairy support land • increases in dairy support land greater than maximum area of farm used for dairy support from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2019.

Applicable resource consents cannot extend beyond 31 December 2030.

New restrictions on winter grazing now apply unless a regional council has implemented the new NPSFM.

From date regulations come into force – 3 September 2020.

Discretionary activity resource consents required for winter grazing unless: • area of farm used for IWG no greater than 50ha or 10% of farm (whichever is greater); and • mean slope of paddock used for IWG ≤10 degrees; and • no pugging deeper than 20cm; and • pugging of any depth not greater than 50% of paddock; and • livestock must be kept at least 5m away from bed of any river, lake, wetland, or drain (even if dry/empty); and • land must be replanted as soon as practicable after grazing (no later than 1 November for Otago and Southland or 1 October everywhere else).

Restrictions apply until 31 December 2024.

Restrictions on intensive winter grazing (IWG)

Restrictions apply until 31 December 2024.

Applicable resource consents cannot extend beyond 31 December 2030.

STOP PRESS: The definition of pugging has now been changed to penetration of soil of more than 5cm.

The 20cm pugging depth limit does not apply around fixed structures.

OR no certified freshwater farm plan that applies to IWG and effects no greater than the above.

Mandatory and enforceable freshwater farm plans

These will be required for the following land-uses: • pastoral farming totalling 20ha or more • arable farming totalling 20ha or more • horticulture totalling 5ha or more • an agricultural purpose prescribed in the regulations (not yet determined) • any combination of the above uses totalling 20 ha or more.

To be rolled out to progressively to specific regions, districts, or areas (places and dates yet to be determined).

Further regulations will be released specifying audit requirements, etc.

Farm plans will have to be certified and audited (certifiers and auditors will be appointed by councils).

Real-time measuring and reporting of data on water use

Amendments to water-metering regulations to require telemetry of data.

• Permit holders previously required to keep records of cubic metres of water taken each day – but that is now required to be recorded in each 15-minute period. Exception allowed – volume recorded can be “in each week”, but specific approval must be granted by regional council for this.

• These 15-minute records must be provided electronically to councils daily (i.e. by the end of the next day).

• Records for a water year are now required to be provided to councils electronically as the default unless council requests they be provided in writing.

Regulations come into force on 3 September 2020, but compliance dates as follows: • 3 September 2022 for water permits ≥ 20 l/s • 3 September 2024 for water permits ≥ 10 l/s • 3 September 2026 for water permits ≥ 5 l/s

Stock exclusion

News regulations apply to stock exclusion from lakes and rivers more than one metre wide and natural wetlands: • Dairy cattle on any terrain • Pigs on any terrain • Dairy support cattle on any terrain • Beef cattle intensively grazed on any terrain • Deer intensively grazing on any terrain • Beef cattle on low slope land • Deer on low slope land

Dates vary depending on farm system, from 3 September 2020; 1 July 2023; and 1 July 2025.

Exceptions are provided for certain stock crossings – see regulations for more details.

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IRRIGATION NZ NEWS SPRING 2020

See regulations for details.

NAME

DETAILS

DATES

National bottom line for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN)

Review as to whether there should be a national bottom line for DIN.

July 2021.

Nitrogen attributes of NPSFM

Review of nitrogen management systems. If no reduction in synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use across the country, further input controls will be considered.

Order in Council can be made create regulations around the sale and collection of information on fertiliser purchases.

2023.

Regional authority planning – new freshwater processes

New freshwater planning process for regional councils’ policy statements and plans. Freshwater hearings panels replace traditional regional council-appointed hearings panels for freshwater planning instrument hearings. Freshwater hearings panels are not limited in their recommendations to regional councils to only matters raised in submissions.

By 31 December 2024 to implement new NPSFM.

Regional planning appeal rights

A submitter may appeal a council’s decision on a freshwater planning instrument as follows: • If a recommendation of a freshwater hearing panel was rejected by a council, the submitter may appeal to the Environment Court • If a recommendation of a freshwater hearing panel was accepted by a council, the submitter may appeal to the High Court on points of law only.

Water allocation

New allocation framework and Maori rights and interests addressed.

Unknown.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR REGIONAL PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE? The new NPSFM requires all regional authorities to implement it “as soon as reasonably practicable.” That means that all regional councils must amend, update, or implement new planning documents (such as Regional Policy Statements and Regional Plans) to implement the new NPSFM and these must be notified by 31 December 2024.

However, Councils may determine that their current Policy Statements and Plans already implement the new NPSFM. If there is a “dispute” about this (for instance, a person or group could initiate judicial review proceedings against a council if that person thinks that the NPSFM has not been implemented by the region), the onus is on the council to prove that their instruments do implement the NPSFM, rather than the other party having to prove that the NPSFM hasn’t been implemented.

Local authorities are not required to make changes to wording or terminology within in their planning instruments simply to match the wording of the NPSFM – changes are required where they are substantive to implementing the NPSFM. If they do wish to make minor (non-substantive) changes to wording or terminology, a local authority does not have to go through the standard plan change process to do so.

The new regulations and national environmental standards, such as stock exclusion, may come into force prior to new regional rules and policies being introduced.

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CHAMPIONS SERIES

World’s best wheat Breaking a world record – not only once, but twice – is no easy feat, and a Mid Canterbury grower says he could not have achieved it without irrigation.

Eric and Maxine Watson farm at Wakanui just out of Ashburton, a 490-hectare fully arable farm which is 97 percent irrigated.

“Irrigation is crucial to running our business – the seasons change so much year to year.”

In 2017 they broke the Guinness World Record for the highest wheat yield with 16.791 tonnes per hectare. Now, three years later, they have surpassed this with a crop yielding 17.398 tonnes per hectare. On average irrigated wheat in New Zealand yields about 12 tonnes per hectare.

The Kerrin wheat, a feed variey, was sown in April 2019, and harvested on February 17 this year (the record recognition was delayed due to COVID-19).

Mr and Mrs Watson have farmed at ‘Rangitata Holdings’, Wakanui, Ashburton for 27 years, having previously farmed at Ealing, on the north bank of the Rangitata River.

Hence, Mr Watson has been growing food for a very long time: he says it is like “having an extra-large vege garden.” Alongside wheat this year they grew a variety of grasses for seed, also chicory, plantain, spinach, radish, pak choi and faba beans.

Decisions about which crops to grow are based around paddock history, national and international markets and financial return.

Eric and Maxine Watson at their farm in Wakanui, Ashburton.

Wheat usually makes up about one-third of the total farm area.

Last season a great growing season, with warm days, cool nights, and high sunshine hours, but it was also thanks to their reliable irrigation system, which was an integral part of breaking the record.

“We couldn’t grow the wheat to this

extent or farm without irrigation, we’d be very restricted in the crops we could grow – overseas buyers don’t like crop failures.”

The farm has a linear irrigation system which is supplied from four wells on the property with VRI (variable rate irrigation) on seven of the nine irrigators for maximum efficiency and accuracy of water application.

Harvest February 2017 – during the first successful record attempt .

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IRRIGATION NZ NEWS SPRING 2020

Irrigating Triticale in 2006.

Neutron probes are an essential tool, (read weekly, to determine soil moisture levels, the amount of water the crop is using, and how far away the crop is from stress point).

“We have probes in every paddock: wheat like any plant needs water at the right time and too much or not enough can have a detrimental impact.”

Following the 2017 record Mr Watson changed from granular nitrogen application to liquid nitrogen, after observing considerable stripping across the crops. He said this had been a significant factor in increasing their yield.

“The liquid N is applied through the sprayer – it’s very even in distribution, more efficient and you are more flexible as to when you can put it on.”

Mr Watson said throughout his time farming he had witnessed a big shift in the technology and information available.

“The agronomical knowledge available now is amazing – people put so much work into trials and analysis.”

Mr Watson said the idea to try and break the record came from his son, Philip, who said he would shout his dad a magnum of champagne if he got it.

“The record attempt begins before sowing with the area being surveyed, it’s monitored throughout the growing season and on the day the process has to be continuously videoed with every load run over a certified weight bridge.

It does cost to enter and it’s really beyond an individual to manage it – we are very grateful for the support we have had from the Bayer team, especially our agronomists and other agricultural consultants throughout it.”

Mrs Watson is not much involved on the machinery side of things, but takes care of the paperwork and financial matters, recently completing the property’s farm environment plan and overseer budget herself.

Mrs Watson said compliance was intensifying and has changed drastically in the couple’s time farming, “it’s important we do these things, it’s all part of being a farmer these days.”

The pair love the land, and both love growing things and agree “we get a lot of

pleasure out of growing a good crop.”

“If you don’t look after your soils, you’re not going to grow a good crop it’s the most important thing for us – the soils are so important and making sure we’re not wasting resources.”

Of his involvement in farming Mr Watson said, “I could never see myself doing

anything else.”

“The best thing (and I’m sure it’s the best thing for most cropping farmers) is sitting in the header at harvest time and knowing all your work has paid off.”

When asked if he thought he would try and beat his own record Mr Watson said he would “just have to wait and see.”

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CHAMPIONS SERIES

A passion for sports and turf – hand in hand Looking after the field that sits beneath the roof of the only fully covered natural turf stadium in the world comes with its challenges, but having irrigation helps get it ready for game day.

Forsyth Barr Stadium turf manager, Michael Watson, doing what he does best.

Michael Watson is the Turf Manager at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Of course, being a covered stadium meant the field never got any Dunedin, Otago. He first began looking after the field at the stadium in rain on it, nor did it get much sunlight – only 50 percent light was 2014, but his love for turf management started many years before that. received through the roof, therefore irrigation was vital, and if it wasn’t for Mr Watson grew up in Dunedin and at the age of 13 did a day’s work irrigation Mr Watson said there would be no field to play on. experience for a local golf club as part of his school’s workday.

“Irrigation is absolutely crucial to managing the field, we can’t rely “Being a 13-year-old and driving around on lawnmowers all day on any rain, we also don’t get much light, so the grass can become seemed like a pretty cool job … I was hooked.” very weak.”

He then went on to volunteer at the golf club and then got some The field, which is 9,200m² (just under a hectare) is home to 40 popcasual work after school. up sprinklers, which could be operated remotely. In the growing months He soon had a pretty good understanding of what the role entailed from October through to March, five to six millimetres of water were put and took on a three-and-a-half-year apprenticeship as a groundsman at on each day and over the winter months about one to two millimetres Balmacewan Golf Club, in Dunedin. are put on across a week. Any dry patches or spots During his apprenticeship, he also took the sprinklers did not reach were hand watered. on some work at Forsyth Barr Stadium and, Approximately 800 kilograms of nitrogen was put “We monitor the soil moisture before long, landed a role there where he on the field a year. super closely heading into completed his qualification.

Mr Watson said although the field was under events like these, if it’s too Throughout his time at the stadium Mr cover it could still get really cold, therefore, they Watson has improved his knowledge to help also use light and heat lamps to encourage growth. low the field will dry out him take on the manager role two years ago.

“With an outside field or turf there is more and if it’s too high it will turn “I’ve just loved every minute of it … sitting margin for error with the irrigation, because you into mud, we don’t want in a classroom wasn’t for me and when I can rely on getting a bit of sunlight and rain – discovered this job, getting out of bed each however being undercover we can’t, therefore we either of those things.” morning was easy” have to have the irrigation system as close to 100 Mr Watson’s primary focus was daily percent accurate as possible.” monitoring of the field such as keeping track of what was going on He said having the field right in preparation for events was a big part beneath the ground, making sure the moisture levels were right as well of his job. as what was happening on top to make sure the grass was performing.

“A lot of the rugby games are televised therefore not only does it need Between he and another staff member, they are responsible for the to be performing well it needs to look good.” day-to-day maintenance of the field.

However over time there had been a shift in focus from not The first pile of the stadium was driven in the ground in winter 2009 necessarily having the best-looking field. and was officially opened in 2011 ahead of the Rugby World Cup. Since “You can have the best-looking grass but it might not be the right soil then more than two million patrons have enjoyed events on the pitch moisture content for a game and how it is can really affect the play … from top international sporting events to concerts, festivals and more. a sign of success is always when people say it was good to play on.”

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“Yes, it has to look good but, success isn’t all about that, it [the field] has to be able to withstand the number of events we have.”

The Forsyth Barr Stadium field was regularly home to concertgoers and the set up for concerts often involved a big pack-in and pack-out, therefore an extended period where it was not possible to irrigate. For standing concerts, the field was fully covered.

For seated concerts, just the walkways were covered.

“We monitor the soil moisture super closely heading into events like these, if it’s too low the field will dry out and if it’s too high it will turn into mud, we don’t want either of those things.”

Mr Watson said a highlight of his career would have “If you decide to not only be “the big rugby matches” but also the you’re going to Ed Sheeran concerts in 2018.

“We had three concerts over four nights, the place be lazy it shows, was absolutely buzzing, however, it was a long time for you’ve got to dig the field to be covered … I can still remember pulling up in and do the the floor after being under cover for six days and being pleased with how good the pitch had handled it.” hard yards you Unlike many other stadium fields where the turf can’t leave it and was grown off site, the Forsyth Barr stadium field was come back.” renovated every three years. The previous field was lifted, and new seed sewed to plant a new one.

“I consider that a big highlight and cool to be a part of … it can be stressful to have it back operating in time but it’s pretty exciting when you go through the process.”

Mr Watson said turf management had been a great career for him, “I love it, I struggle to see where else I would be.”

“When I was a kid growing up I loved sport from basketball, rugby and golf however I didn’t really have the skill to play it at the top level … however this way I’m involved with top-level sport, just not playing it.”

“It’s a bit contradictory that I say I love my job because you’re outside given the field is under a roof ! However, I love it, you’re outside enjoying it and being hands-on.”

“If you decide you’re going to be lazy it shows, you’ve got to dig in and do the hard yards you can’t leave it and come back.”

Irrigation is a crucial element to the only fully covered turf stadium in the world.

Pitch perfect field at Forsyth Barr Stadium – a credit to the irrigation.

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IRRIGATION NZ NEWS SPRING 2020

From paddock to bottle Craft beer production in New Zealand is on a high, and it all starts with irrigation. From paddock to malting to brewing, the process to produce outstanding beverages is championed by hard-working, passionate people.

Growing malting barley was not always on the cards for one Canterbury farmer, however the introduction of irrigation has allowed it to become an integral part of his farming system.

Tim Cookson farms in Hororata and is a fourth generation farmer at his and wife Lucy’s farm ‘Pinewoods’ which was first purchased by his great-grandfather in 1925.

He first started getting water for irrigation after development in 2015. Prior to having irrigation, his focus was sheep, dairy grazing and a small amount of cropping, however reliable irrigation unlocked a lot of potential for his land and growing malting barley was one of them.

The 460-hectare property, which is 95 percent irrigated, now grew a range of crops from grass seed, clover seed, hybrid radish, hemp – for the first time last season, and more, as well as ongoing dairy support.

Mr Cookson is a friend of Doug Michael at Gladfield Malt, who had always encouraged him to grow malting barley.

“As soon as we had the water, he was on the phone telling me to get the barley in … it was a great decision and is something I really enjoy doing.”

Mr Cookson has now been growing it ever since.

“We would not be growing it without irrigation, we might get it good once and again but without the irrigation it definitely wouldn’t be sustainable for us.”

“It’s a great versatile crop and presents different challenges.”

The Laureate barley was planted at two separate times in the spring behind paddocks that had been used for winter crop and took approximately 150 days to grow before being harvested in the summer. It was then stored on farm before going to the malting plant. The barley straw was then fed back out on the farm as stock feed.

Mr Cookson said one of the challenges of introducing the barley was integrating it with the rest of the whole system.

“Everything needs to line up and work in with the stock, nutrient budgets and more, it’s all part of the challenges we have now.”

Mr Cookson said all farmers and growers would say it would be great to be able to stare into a crystal ball and predict the weather patterns and trends for the future, and having irrigation meant, regardless of the climate, he would be able to continue to keep producing.

“In another five years we have no idea what the patterns are going to be like but it’s good to know we’ve got water.”

“It was a big decision and a big financial investment for us to get irrigation, however I have never regretted the decision, it has allowed us to use our land better and we will continue to be able to in the future.”

“We’re lucky in New Zealand to have abundant water, we might as well use it, it gives us options.”

Where it all begins – Hororata farmer Tim Cookson with barley ready for malting.

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From barley to malt A passion for barley and the desire to do something different was the beginning of Gladfield Malt – which now provides malt across New Zealand and the world.

Doug and Gabriella Michael are the owners of Gladfield Malt in Dunsandel, Canterbury. Mr Michael is a fifth-generation farmer at ‘Gladfield’, traditionally a sheep and cropping farm.

Mr Michael always aspired to do something different and started developing the business soon after he left school and when returning home after a shearing stint, bought some of the property himself.

“I didn’t want to be a dairy farmer, it’s a great career, but it wasn’t for me …

I had always enjoyed barley and knew we could grow it well and saw the craft beer market as an opportunity.”

Mr Michael met his wife Gabriella when she was visiting New Zealand from Brazil, and the pair have worked together since.

After growing their own barley for many years Mr and Mrs Michael decided to create their own craft malting plant and when a bare paddock was turned into one in 2004, Gladfield Malt was born. The operation is now a 170-hectare irrigated property which was not only home to the malting plant but also grew barley.

“I wanted to go to the next level and produce a product to sell directly … we’re in some of the world’s best barley growing areas, having a maritime climate, good soils and water for irrigation.”

Mr Michael was primarily focused on the operations of the grain and malting plant while Mrs Michael looked after the sales and marketing.

The craft beer market was hard to break into Mr Michael said, as New Zealand brewers previously tended to import their malt.

“We slowly developed the market and originally just malted our own barley (which we still do) before we started buying it in, we slowly developed the market day by day, year by year …

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Gladfield Malt owners, Gabriella and Doug Michael, stand in a paddock of young barley right in front of the processing plant in Dunsandel.

Doug looks over the controls of the germination process. Although there is a lot of technology involved it still takes a lot of judgement from an expert to make sure the process is done correctly.

Germination.

Doug checks on the grain during the germination process.

growing our own barley used to be everything however now it’s a small part of our business.”

Not only did Gladfield Malt get made into beer in New Zealand but it was also exported to Australia, which was their biggest market and Asia, the second biggest market, as well as other destinations. They also provided malt for the baking and distilling industries.

Mr Michael said irrigation was crucial to what they did.

“Our main goal is to provide good malt to our customers and without good barley we couldn’t do that and do it consistently … it’s so important to have irrigation.”

He said not only were the growing conditions and soil important but, to have full grain it needed to be watered appropriately.

“We are so lucky to have passionate farmers who supply us. We’re precision farming in New Zealand now, high quality malting barley is a result of good soils, a unique climate and water, and people to consistently grow a good product.”

“If we didn’t have irrigation, we might have a good year every now and again, we wouldn’t have access to the top-quality barley like we do.”

Mr Michael said like any business the whole thing had been a challenge, but that was the best part.

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THE MALTING PROCESS Malt is a germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as malting. Malt is one of the four essential ingredients in producing craft beer. The process of malting involves three main steps – soaking (known as steeping), next is germinating and finally heating or kilning the grain produces its final colour and flavour.

1. Cleaning When the barley first arrives, it is graded and cleaned.

2. Steeping This is where the grain is cleaned and brought to life with water and oxygen.

This is done by steeping or immersing the grain in water, followed by a rest period that allows the water to be fully absorbed. The absorbed water promotes the growth of the new enzymes and activates existing ones. This generally takes 24–48 hours.

3. Germination The barley is then cast into germination boxes where it stays for five days. Here growth and modification of the grain occurs. Modification is the breakdown of protein and carbohydrates and results in opening the starch reserves, turning starch into sugar. Moisture levels and temperature are controlled via airflow and water spray.

4. Kilning The grain is then dried to prevent further germination and flavour is added.

5. Roasting The malt is then roasted to further create different flavours and ultimately different beers.

6. Cleaning and bagging The malt is then cleaned and bagged into one tonne or 25 kilogram bags or sold in bulk.

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The last job before the malt goes out the door – bagging.

“There’s some sort of challenge every day.”

As well as competition, making sure their malt was top standard for a constantly evolving craft beer industry was trying, although only three varieties of barley came through the door, 34 types of malt went out it.

“Every brewer is different in what they want. The biggest challenge is making sure we achieve their expectations, having happy customers was a real measure of success, I get a lot of job satisfaction from happy customers and ultimately people enjoying the beer.”

Mr Michael said the business had gotten much bigger than they had originally planned. ‘’ There’s no secret to growing a business,

the harder you work the luckier you get, having good people around you and staff is so important.”

“Always have faith in yourself, ask questions and learn but ultimately you have to make your own decisions.”

Going forward Mr Michael said they planned to continue looking ahead and working on producing the best product possible, and both Mr and Mrs Michael enjoyed seeing their children Isabel (13), Fred (11), and Trev (9) learn and experience being part of the business.

“Maybe when I retire, I can go back sheep farming.”

LEARN ABOUT THE PART IRRIGATION PLAYS IN GROWING HOPS Hops is also an integral ingredient in beer.

See our previous feature on Tasman hops growers in the Winter 2019 issue of IrrigationNZ News.

Visit our website to view this story:

www.irrigationnz.co.nz

To the final product A yarn over a beer and a joke about making the tipple themselves turned into a reality for two mates from Yorkshire, and they are now selling it within metres of where it is made.

Mark Limber and Dave Dixon – lovers of beer and music – purchased Two Thumb Brewing Co. in 2017 but their partnership goes back many years. The pair grew up in Doncaster in the UK and at a young age were in a band together “thinking we were going to be rock and roll stars,” Mr Limber said.

However, Mr Dixon left the UK in 1992 and the pair did not stay in touch.

Eight years ago, Mr Limber made the move to New Zealand. After speaking to a mutual friend, he informed Mr Limber that Mr Dixon had in fact also made the move to New Zealand. On contact they discovered they were both in Christchurch and decided to catch up for a beer, a Two Thumb beer of course. A few beers deep they said if the brewery ever came up for sale, they would purchase it – and a week later it did.

They stuck to their word and took over the brewery in September 2017, “it’s fair to say we were terrified when we first started. We knew nothing about brewing, and were terrified contemplating what had we gotten ourselves into,” Mr Limber said.

The previous owner stayed on with them for three months to teach them the ropes and then following that it was over to them, who both had, and still do have, other full time jobs.

Mr Limber a consultant in healthcare and Mr Dixon a manager at Ara Polytechnic “we both spend more time than we should here!”

“The first beer we brewed was of course Yorkshire Bitter, which you generally can’t get in New Zealand,” Mr Limber said.

“Our birthdays are both in October and we made two 20 litre kegs of it and took one with us on our birthday holiday and sent another one to a beer festival where it very quickly sold out.”

Since then we have brewed it constantly as well as plenty of other varieties, we have added over time – they have gone from having a 20-litre home brew kit to an 800-litre commercial kit.

The brewery was originally just that.

However, two years ago they built a brew bar

Dave Dixon (left) and Mark Limber – working during the brewing process.

Mark Limber of Two Thumb Brewery – with malt and one of his signature beers he creates from it.

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THE BREWING PROCESS: Brewing beer is the process of extracting sugars and flavours from malted barley adding hops and fermenting, so the liquid creates alcohol.

Step 1: Milling Malted barley is crushed in a grain mill.

Two Thumb Brewing use a range of malts with a range of flavours and colours depending on what type of beer they are making.

Step 2: Mashing This is where the malt is mixed with hot water in a large vat to extract the sugars

Step 3: Sparging The grain is rinsed to extract all the sugars and extracted into wort

Step 4: Kettle Now the wort is moved to the kettle and boiled. During this the hops are added at different times depending on the flavour requirements.

Step 5: Fermenting The wort is then transferred to the fermenter via a heat exchanger to cool it to 25˚C. The yeast is added. Inside the fermentation tank the yeast eats the sugars and produces alcohol. This takes about a week after which it is transferred into a chilled storage tank for conditioning

Step 6: Finishing Touches Stored at four degrees all particles in the beer naturally fall out and the beer clarifies. Two Thumb do not filter their beer, preferring traditional methods.

CO² is added at this point to make it fizzy if required. onto the back of it which now accounts for about 60 percent of their business and is open from Thursday to Sunday.

“The venue is becoming a central part of what we do, and Dave and I can play our music here, it means we have had to hire some more people and including the two of us we now have a core team of six.”

As well as the bar, Two Thumb also supplies some supermarkets, bars and restaurants as well as showcases their craft beer at festivals and events.

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Mark gets the kettle ready for the brewing process.

As the business grows Mr Limber said they would like to be able to do it full time in the future but for now they really just do it for the love of it, “we have learnt so much and the craft beer market is a hard one to crack … trends are always changing.”

Mr Limber said the pair are small local brewers and being able to use local products to do so is a big part of their values.

“We have everything we need to brew beer here in New Zealand and have great access to a variety of malt to do so.”

“It’s great to have a reliable source of malt as without it we couldn’t make our beer!”

Both Mr Limber and Mr Dixon enjoy brewing together “it’s a lot of hard work but we get on well and enjoy the whole process.”

They love seeing people enjoying their product right next to where it is made and to see the people gather and support their local, small batch brewery.

“Month to month we make different beers – the trends are always changing; it will be interesting to see what the future holds.”

Art, culture and irrigation It may not be your typical job, with elements of science, land management, Māoritanga and even art conservation, but Rosemary Clucas is relishing her new role as South Canterbury’s Poū Matai Kō mahinga kai facilitator.

After many years as a fisheries scientist and DOC ranger in Canterbury and Otago, Rosemary’s aim is now to help farmers protect and enhance native plants, animals – and even precious Māori rock art – on their properties.

Working closely with Ngāi Tahu Rock Art Trust, rūnanga and landowners, Rosemary will dedicate part of her role to advising on the potential impact of irrigation and farming on ancient limestone rock art, called tuhituhi o neherā.

Hundreds of drawings in South Canterbury, some of which could be up to 1000 years old, are susceptible to damage or destruction from changes to land use, exposure to the elements and environmental changes. Such sites are a taonga to Ngāi Tahu who are actively involved in their conservation and ongoing management.

Rosemary, who has whakapapa to Ngāi Tūāhuriri Kaiapoi, says it’s a “great privilege” to participate in protecting these taonga along with the manawhenua and kaitiaki of Moeraki, Waihao and Arowhenua.

“I’ve always been really interested in my tribal history and working with the rock art allows me to enter the world of my ancestors and see it through their eyes.

“The rock art must be seen in the wider context of the waterways and paths that were followed and it allows a glimpse of a world now past to hold on to.”

“People come from all around the world to study our rock art – it’s a really significant feature of the region and it can’t be replaced if it disappears.”

Rosemary’s Poū Matai Kō role centres on raising awareness of how to use the land and environment in way that supports mahinga kai traditional resource gathering and sustainable ecosystems.

She has a real interest in freshwater fish such as tuna and īnanga (eels and whitebait) having studied native freshwater fish for much of her career in fisheries conservation.

“There’s a growing appreciation of our native freshwater species and many of these are now ‘at risk’ and some heading towards being ‘critically threatened’ due to changes to their habitat.

“There is also a greater understanding that changes made to support biodiversity, like riparian planting and fencing, also increase the overall resilience of environments.

“Riparian plantings are sources of food to fish instream but also can greatly improve habitat and water quality.”

Mahinga kai targets are now included in Farm Environment Plans and Rosemary is available to help South Canterbury farmers make these targets relevant to their properties.

“I am very happy to come out for a visit and talk about what existing mahinga kai species might already be on your property, as well as discuss different options for what can be prioritised and enhanced.” +64 27 328 7547 Rosemary.Clucas@ecan.govt.nz

Protecting Maori rock art in South Canterbury South Canterbury has the highest density of Maori rock art or tuhituhi o neherā in New Zealand and, while some locations are public, the vast majority are on private property.

The art is particularly vulnerable because of the materials used to create it – pigments such as soot and kokowai (red ochre) – and the fragile limestone ‘canvas’ to which the art is applied.

Photo credit: Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Trust

The Orari Temuka Opihi Pareora Water Zone Committee supported the inclusion of measures to protect the art in its recommendations to councils on water management as part of its Zone Implementation Programme Addendum (ZIPA). Provisions for rock art protection are also included in Proposed Plan Change 7 of the Land and Water Regional Plan.

Gearing up for next winter’s grazing Heading into summer, most farmers will have already selected the paddocks for next season’s winter feed but there are still key actions that can minimise environmental risks and to protect the future health of your soils. Land Management Advisor Ian Lyttle shares some useful tips to make sure you are well set up for winter 2021.

Winter crop grazing is recognised as high-risk environmental activity that can contribute more than half of a farm’s annual nutrient losses. It is critical to take action to reduce runoff and sediment loss to help future production on farm and protect our waterways. No one likes to see the worst impacts of winter grazing in a wet year.

Take stock of your paddocks’ risk areas Have a good look at the blocks you’ve chosen, with the greatest focus on the steepest areas and the gully or swales that water will flow through before exiting the paddock.

Steep slopes pose greater risk to sediment loss from highly erosive run-off water, so please leave them in pasture to keep your soil in the paddock, where it belongs. In some cases, you may still be able to decide to go grass-to-grass in a steeper paddock and select a flatter paddock for winter feed.

Keep in mind too, the future years and how you can get your regrassing done and select lower slope winter feed paddocks for the future.

Soil type is also important, as heavier clay soils are more readily damaged and susceptible to sediment losses. If you’re planning to graze in paddock with heavy soil, you will need to have a plan to move stock in wet weather.

The swales in the paddock provide the last opportunity to keep soil and nutrients in run-off water in your paddock or on your farm. They are your critical source areas. Best practice is to leave the swales in pasture to filter out sediment in the run-off water.

Take care when establishing your crop Crop establishment is the next critical factor, as certain cultivation methods can greatly increase the risk to soil degradation and loss.

Many farmers are achieving good results using direct drilling, which reduces damage to soil structure and sediment loss.

The direction of cultivation is important and contour cultivation across the slope significantly reduces sediment loss risk.

Prepare your winter grazing management plan for the coming season Your winter grazing management plan is all about recognising how to manage the risks to your soil and waterways and preparing management practices to mitigate the risks of soil damage and nutrient loss. It should be prepared well ahead of winter, shared with key operational staff and can be part of your Farm Environment Plan. DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand have templates and procedures on their websites that you can use and adapt.

Cattle and deer create a greater risk than sheep. This can be mitigated with strategic grazing practices, grazing top down, and protecting the critical source area or swale.

Stock movement is an important risk factor that farmers can manage. The time stock spend moving on the paddock can be reduced by having well-fed stock, using back fencing, using portable water troughs and planned placement of baleage.

Strategically grazed catchment

On/off grazing, where the animals are taken off after they have filled their bellies, allows them to get their daily ration of winter feed, and to graze or rest in a more spread out area and to reduce soil damage and sediment losses.

Ben Johnson talks to fellow farmers during a winter grazing workshop held at his Timaru property.

Think about a catch crop for next year Research into catch crops has shown them to be effective in reducing nutrient losses from winter feed crops and to also have a net financial benefit.

The job of a catch crop is to grow when soil conditions are too cool for many pasture and crop seeds and to absorb nutrients from the soil and reduce leaching losses below the root zone. These nutrients accumulate in the soil during winter crop grazing, from dung and urine and mineralisation of soil organic matters, such as crop residues. Post-winter is one of the riskiest times of the year for nutrient leaching losses.

Crops that are more likely to be successful include short rotation ryegrasses, oats, barley and wheat – plants which have larger seeds. They may take a while to germinate, but once they do, they begin taking up those excess nutrients.

We hear concern about how catch crops may disrupt the conventional rotations, but they also provide options for farmers. These include having high-quality leafy forage earlier in the spring, more forage for baleage, or even the option for whole-crop silage or grain.

If you need some extra guidance and information on winter grazing, you are welcome to get in touch with a land management advisor on 0800 324 636 or visit our Farmers’ hub at www.ecan.govt.nz/farmers-hub

New winter grazing guidelines supporting best practice Environment Canterbury’s new guidelines for Farm Environment Plan auditors will give greater consistency and robustness when auditing winter grazing with sheep, cattle or deer on forage crops.

The guide, which is available on our website, aims to give FEP auditors the necessary guidance to assess their level of confidence that farmers are meeting environmental targets for winter grazing.

These targets include evidence of planning and mitigations to reduce potential nutrient and sediment run-off from paddocks into waterways.

They are an important step towards better managing the impact of winter grazing on water quality, soil health and mahinga kai values.

“We know that winter is a demanding time for farmers but that is why having a plan for grazing in bad weather is even more important,” says Senior Service Manager Nick Daniels.

“The new guidelines, which have been put together in conjunction with industry, including DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb NZ, Deer NZ and Foundation for Arable Research, lay out our expectations for farmers to understand the risks and make plans to mitigate them.”

Key sections in the guidelines include expectations on planning throughout the farming calendar year for: • • • •

Ian Lyttle (centre in blue shirt), Land Management Advisor at Environment Canterbury, discusses ideas for grazing this Timaru paddock over winter.

paddock selection (winter/early spring) block set-up (early summer/pre-grazing) crop grazing (April to August) post-grazing management (August to October and beyond).

Workshops with farm auditors have been held. We encourage auditors or farmers to get in touch with us if you are interested in learning more about auditing for winter grazing.

The Government’s freshwater policy changes How will they affect you?

The Government’s new Action for Healthy Waterways freshwater rules are now in place and Environment Canterbury is working to understand what this means for Canterbury farmers.

In the meantime, there is plenty of information available for farmers and irrigators from industry groups, or you can get in touch with Environment Canterbury for advice.

What is Action for Healthy Waterways?

The Action for Healthy Waterways policy package involves changes to four key policy documents that have been made following community consultation in September 2019.

These documents are: • • • •

National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 National Environmental Standard for Freshwater 2020 Stock Exclusion s360 Regulations Measurement and Reporting of Water Takes s360 Regulations.

You can find these documents and further information at www.ecan.govt.nz.

What does this mean for Canterbury?

We believe that Canterbury is well-placed to adapt to the new requirements.

The Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan and Plan Changes put in place over the last 10 years aim to ensure fresh water is managed as a shared resource.

Our farmers and the wider Canterbury community are working hard to comply with these plans and taking measures to reduce nutrient output and improve the health of waterways.

Measures indicated in Action for Healthy Waterways, such as the use of Farm Environment Plans and stock exclusion from waterways, are already well established in Canterbury.

However, while our regional planning framework covers many of the same areas as the new requirements, changes will be required to existing plans to give effect to the new national direction.

Further analysis is needed before we can provide clarity on the extent of changes required.

We will provide more information and advice on how these changes affect Canterbury farmers on our website as it becomes available.

Facilitating sustainable development in the Canterbury region E20/8038

www.ecan.govt.nz

Are you in the U.S. irrigation market?

Irrigation Leader magazine is mailed to each of the nearly 700 irrigation districts that provide water to over 10 million acres in the 17 western states. We are always looking for new irrigation technology and businesses to write about. See our current and all past magazine issues on our website at www.irrigationleadermagazine.com.

Irrigation Leader magazine is published by Water Strategies LLC, an American company founded in 2009. For more information, contact Kris Polly at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com or +001 (703) 517-3962.

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Satellite Crop Monitoring

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326 Burnett Street Ashburton email enquiry@rubiconwater.com ph 027 644 2288

IRRIGATION NZ NEWS SPRING 2020

Project update from IrrigationNZ IrrigationNZ proactively supports irrigators, irrigation schemes, irrigator user groups and the irrigation service industry. We undertake advocacy work, media relations, irrigation sector information updates, training and provide technical and practical knowledge. As part of improving knowledge we currently have three projects to support irrigation and freshwater management.

Read more to find out about the projects, what we have achieved so far, and their future.

FISH SCREENS Adoption of Good Practise Fish Screening Project.

Fish screen design and installation involves significant investment.

Given the large capital outlay ahead for irrigators, clear expectations need to be set around how to achieve effective fish screens, alongside the provision of greater certainty that the designers and installers of fish screens can achieve long-term compliance for irrigators.

In late 2019 IrrigationNZ (on behalf of the New Zealand Fish Screen Working Group*), received a grant from the Sustainable Farming Fund to further research fish screen design criteria. The aim of the research is to provide clear and simple guidance on fish screen requirements and provide solutions and guidance on existing fish screen deficiencies.

This is a two year project and includes identifying knowledge/data gaps, consideration of biological criteria, technical, engineering and design considerations, manufacturing and installation, maintenance and operations, laboratory and field trials, and compliance and planning matters. In addition, industry extension to improve current design and installation capability to meet the impending demands of abstractors who are required to bring their screens up to standard, or for those installing new screen arrangements and need certainty around the effectiveness of their screen, post installation and an education component are included.

To date the following has been completed: • Summary status report identifying gaps still to address and a status update of existing information including key new information now available since the original 2007 Fish Screening

•

• • •

guidelines were published. This report incorporates relevant information from throughout New Zealand.

Identification of three sites suitable to address compliant design.

These sites cover ‘typical intake locations’ and represent a range of flows and challenges. They are small to medium in size and exclude large takes. Agreement with landowners of the three sites to participate in the project has been ben achieved and preliminary site assessments undertaken.

Field and laboratory trial scope and design methodologies have been defined.

Year one laboratory trials have been conducted with some interesting results with fish behaviours present. Full reporting to still be completed.

Options Reports completed for all three sites.

Next steps include engaging with the manufacturing industry and taking steps for installation of exemplar trial screens; and a review of year one lab trials to assist with the development of the year two lab trials.

Further information including reports can be found on the IrrigationNZ website, www.irrigationnz.co.nz/KnowledgeResources/FishScreens *The New Zealand Fish Screen Working Group is a subgroup of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and consists of representatives from the following: Environment Canterbury; IrrigationNZ; Fish and Game; The screen service industry; Department of Conservation; Salmon Anglers Association; NIWA; Otago Regional Council; Irrigation Schemes; and ‑ Tahu.

Ngai

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FERTIGATION A new tool for nutrient management The use of fertigation for irrigated broad-acre cropping and pastoral farm systems is an emerging technology in New Zealand. Its uptake potentially creates both production and environmental gains – increasing nutrient efficiency and decreasing the risk of leaching and run-off.

However, its efficacy, particularly for nitrogen applications, needs to be better understood. In 2019 IrrigationNZ entered into a two year Sustainable Farming Fund project with MPI with the aim of providing answers to the following questions: • What is the efficacy of fertilisers applied through fertigation techniques?

• What are the environmental benefits from the adoption of fertigation?

• What are the equipment options for fertigation and to which irrigation system types are they best suited?

• What does ‘good practice’ fertigation management look like?

In year one, the project involved two experiments being run for an irrigation season (September 2019 – May 2020) at two Lincoln University sites using perennial ryegrass/white clover pastures. For the trial, two different treatments were applied to different trial plots. Firstly, plots were created to replicate the current “normal” practice of applying a fixed rate (25kg/ha/month or 200kg/ha/year) of granular nitrogen on a monthly schedule. Then additional trial plots were established using fertigation to apply the same fixed monthly rate as a liquid formulation on a weekly (6.25kg/ha) and monthly (25kg/ha) schedule. The different trial plots were then compared for the following values: the pasture production (yield); pasture composition (species diversity); and feed value.

As the first year of the project is considered the “baseline” year, the project team worked to identify any potential significant agronomic differences between the application and timing of two different formulations (granular and liquid) of nitrogen fertiliser at the same monthly rate. Although there were some recorded variations in both pasture yield and composition during the first year of trials, both trial plot experiments normalised by the final harvest in late March. With

the results taken into context of a single year’s worth of data, the project can move into the second phase of continuing the initial trial plot experiments to build on the baseline knowledge but also include the addition of a reductions trial. This will be the basis for designing the year two trial which is currently being finalised.

IrrigationNZ is grateful to also have the support of Ballance Agri Nutrients, Rainer Irrigation Ltd, Pamu Farms of New Zealand and Molloy Agriculture Ltd for the fertigation project.

Farm manager Johan Joubert, of the property in Canterbury where the fertigation trial is taking placed explain the system at a fertigation field day late last year.

Although it may look like a normal irrigation system, this pivot not only irrigates but also provides fertiliser for pastures through a fertigation system.

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Alongside ‘telling the story’, there are other benefits that may arise from improved information on changes in farm practice and water quality monitoring data. These include: • Providing information to and refuting misinformation in the media • Better targeting where support and resources are needed to assist farm practice change • Increased knowledge of what will make a difference – the effectiveness of specific or combinations of practice change • Refining where environmental ‘hot spots’ are within a catchment • Accelerating practice change through better quantifying the benefits and demonstrating peer adoption levels.

BUILDING TRUST – TELLING THE FARMERS’ STORY 2018 – 2020 Building Trust is a project which was born in 2018 to educate the public in an informative and engaging way about water quality.

The ongoing limits-setting regime under the Freshwater Management NPS through the new regulatory system has resulted in the adoption of audited Farm Environment Plans and the need to have updated records of water quality parameters. As a result, there is much practice change now happening and it is now well documented. For many catchments with water quality issues, due to the time lags involved with data collection, it takes time to observe the changes.

There are also numerous catchments where much of the environmental monitoring data is not visible, particularly data gathered through resource consents.

Given the current public feeling around water, this lack of transparency, coupled with limited observable improvements in water quality, will undoubtedly create further issues for farmers and growers.

To overcome this, farmers need to openly demonstrate the practice change that is occurring – the tangible actions happening within their catchment to improve water quality. Also, all the robust environmental monitoring data needs to be gathered together to help better show the gains being made over time.

The “Building Trust – Telling the Farming Story” project named “Know Your Catchment” recently went live with a visual and engaging interface, under-pinned by a secure data management and analytics system. It has collated all of the above data, dealing with data privacy and sharing issues, analysed and then made it available to both the catchment and wider community – telling the farming story at a catchment scale. This will build trust over time through better informing the community of the commitment farmers are making towards maintaining and improving water quality.

Recently IrrigationNZ and partners reached a major milestone after establishing the Know Your Catchment dashboard and interface. It is currently focused on the Waitaki area – with the Waitaki Irrigators Collective (which includes five irrigation schemes and a large number of independent irrigators, covering over 75,000 hectares). However, there is scope and plans for it to be extended into other areas.

IrrigationNZ CEO Elizabeth Soal said she was excited about this project, both the work that had been completed and the future of it.

“This is a game changer in showcasing water quality, not only does it show the important data, it offers an insightful and innovative way to look at it as well as showcasing the people who are championing water and improving the future of water quality.”

“We really hope people utilise this platform for many years to come and we are currently looking at ways we can extend and maintain it for future use.”

The Building Trust project has been funded through MPI Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund and managed by IrrigationNZ in partnership with Waitaki Irrigators Collective, Otago Regional Council, and Environment Canterbury and support from, FAR, Beef+Lamb NZ. Find out more here: catchment.waitakiirrigators.co.nz

On the following pages some of the articles which sit on the ‘Know Your Catchment’ map – putting a human face to water quality and telling the farmers story.

The interactive map – offering insight to water quality.

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Water – more than just meets the eye

Luke Guyton carries out monthly water testing for the Waihao Downs Irrigation Scheme. He uses the bathyscope to assess the amount of fine sediment in the Waihao river.

A ‘get out there and do it’ approach to water monitoring and sampling is important to a South Canterbury irrigation scheme.

The Morven Glenavy Ikawai Irrigation Company, known as MGI, is responsible for the Redcliffs; Morven, Glenavy, Ikawai; and Waihao Downs Water Schemes. The Redcliffs scheme is one of the oldest in New Zealand, when it was constructed as a depression relief project in the 1930s. The Morven, Glenavy, Ikawai scheme was then built by the Government in the 1970s. MGI purchased the two schemes from the Crown in 1989 and is now responsible for supplying water from the Waitaki river to 28,000 hectares of farmland in South Canterbury.

MGI Environmental Manager Judith Neilson said water sampling was an important part of water quality management for the company, and said it was fundamental it was done frequently.

She said every month in the Waihao Downs Scheme surface water samples were taken from four sites within the scheme’s area, with groundwater sampling occurring during the irrigation season, as well. Water quality sampling is a requirement of the water take consent which MGI holds as a company on behalf of its shareholders.

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monitoring for macrophytes (aquatic plants), matting and filaments; as well as periphyton.

It’s really important that we get out and do it each month, so we have consistent data across seasons from year to year, that represents what’s going on, over time.”

“I’m always more than happy to explain. Farmers are especially interested in what is happening in the water and will often stop and ask how it is looking.”

Ms Neilson said long-term it allowed them to identify any trends that might develop; and to confirm testing parameters, to be able to monitor and respond to what was happening in the different waterways most effectively.

“We monitor to see if there are any effects over time, so that we can then respond to them. It is important to determine whether or not any changes are due to scheme operations.”

Luke Guyton has been working for MGI for two years and took up the role of irrigation

Operator which was previously held by his grandfather Andy Guyton.

On a day-to-day basis Mr Guyton oversaw supplying water throughout the scheme, however each month he enjoyed a change by undertaking the water sampling.

“It’s a good opportunity to see a different part to what I do every day, you become really aware of what is going on when you are out eyeballing the sites … it’s lots of fun in the summer and it can be very cold in the winter, but it’s all worth it.”

Mr Guyton said often when he was out sampling, he would have people stop and ask him what he was doing.

“I’m always more than happy to explain.

Farmers are especially interested in what is happening in the water and will often stop and ask how it is looking.”

The water samples are sent to an independent laboratory for analysis and from there the scheme is able to compile the data over time, to determine trends.

Ongoing water quality monitoring remains an important activity for both MGI and its shareholders, who all want to achieve the same goal of environmental sustainability and good water quality.

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CHAMPIONS SERIES

Clifton Falls Walkway Project – connecting people and water A passion for planting natives and wanting to encourage people to establish a connection to water sparked an idea for a North Otago farmer.

Jane and Lyndon Strang are dairy farmers at their property ‘Maruakoa’ inland of Oamaru which boundaries some of the Kakanui River and popular Clifton Falls swimming hole. Mrs Strang said their family, now teenage children, have many special memories of growing up having adventures on the river.

“It was something we always enjoyed and still do, and we’re lucky to be able to share it with our children.”

However, much of the river was inaccessible due to being a stock exclusion zone for many years and in places had a 30-metre buffer zone making it impossible to access the river, where maintenance spraying could not reach.

A desire for people to enjoy the river and create biodiversity on the river’s edge prompted Mrs Strang’s idea for the Clifton Falls Walkway project, an extension of the Kakanui Community Catchment Project which did

initial planting of the swimming hole five years ago which was beginning to mature now.

Mrs Strang is the project manager and said she wanted to continue this great work.

“The aim of the project is to create a two-kilometre walking track that is planted in natives to establish a wildlife corridor – to enable people to come here and utilise both the track and the river.”

“The new walking track will be within reach of the water, opening up many beautiful spots to appreciate the river.”

“Planting natives isn’t as easy as just putting a plant in the ground, they need to be watered, maintained and predator control needs to be continuous.”

Jane Strang – the project manager of the Clifton Falls Walkway project – in her happy place.

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Work has already begun on the project including clearing some of the track, but there was still plenty more work to come as 2,500 locally sourced plants ranging from harakeke to kowhai have been ordered to plant in the spring. Mrs Strang said the project had been divided into stages and each stage would be funded separately.

“It’s important it’s divided into sections to ensure it’s done properly.”

Stage one was the previous planting that was completed, stage two is now in process.

One kilometre of track was recently cleared and the plants will be put in the ground throughout the impending spring season. They will be planted three metres either side of the track. Stage three would involve final plantings and track extension to two kilometres to see the project through to its completion.

“Planting natives isn’t as easy as just putting a plant in the ground, they need to be watered, maintained and predator control needs to be continuous.”

The project had already received $12,000 worth of funding from the Otago Regional Council (ORC) Eco Fund. Mrs Strang said Waitaki Irrigators Collective had been an integral support in helping put together the funding application.

Five Forks Primary School were ambassadors of the project and it was also supported by the Kakanui Irrigators Committee and the North Otago Sustainable Land Management group (NOSLAM).

“We hope to involve other groups and people and use this space for many benefits not only physical environmental space but also in education and community engagement.”

The project was a big commitment for Mrs Strang however she said allowing people to come and utilise the river and enhancing land that had previously been fenced off was the driver behind it.

“Whether people come here for swimming in the summer or get involved with planting, it brings them here and allows them to enjoy the river.”

“It also helps to better the ecosystem in the river by creating bio-diversity on the

water’s edge.”

Improving water quality and having efficient water management has always been a priority for Mr and Mrs Strang, and this project fell in line with that.

The pair have been at their 440-hectare dairy farm for 15 years and have always had irrigation which has evolved overtime, meaning water use has always been front of mind.

“We could not be sustainable without irrigation … water management is so important.”

This project was not the first time Mrs Strang has tried her hand at native planting in fact she had done extensive planting across their farm and was passionate about it.

“I’m in my happy place when I’m outside with my planting trailer … over the years I’ve learnt a lot more about planting through both going to courses and trial and error, it’s very rewarding to see land not going to waste, and turned into a native area … it’s important to start somewhere and recognise that once plants are in the ground they need to be maintained in order to be successful.”

Mrs Strang has big plans for the future and hoped one day the track could go right to the coast – but that was a long-term goal. For the time being, there needed to be plans in place to successfully complete the first stages of the project and make sure it was maintained.

Watch video on the Clifton Falls Walkway Project to find out more. Search ‘Clifton Falls Walkway Project’ on YouTube or use the following URL: https://youtu.be/OHVey2gaeRE

The walkway track that is being established next to the Kakanui River.

Planting next to the Kakanui River – Clifton Falls swimming hole that was done previously and is now beginning to mature.

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CHAMPIONS SERIES

For the love of water Having a love for land, farming and the community sparked a passion for water for one Kurow woman.

Sandy Cameron has become well-informed about all things water after years of involvement with many aspects of it, both through her own farming experiences and the community.

As Sandy puts it: “there is always [something] going on with water.”

Sandy and her husband Walter farm at Wainui Station near Kurow. Recently they completed farm succession and have chosen to remain living on the farm maintaining an active interest in the properties and local community.

Wainui Station has been farmed by the Cameron family for 106 years and is a 14,000 sheep, beef and cropping property on the North Bank of the Waitaki River. All stock is bred and finished on the property as well as harvesting their own winter feed and selling surplus hay, baleage, and grain. They also farm another property ‘Viewfield’ in the Hakamatera Valley, a dry land 925-hectare 7,000 sheep, beef, and cropping (both grain and small seed) farm.

Mr and Mrs Cameron have four adult children – Georgina, Tim, Kate, and Pip. Georgina farms at Wainui and Tim at Viewfield.

Between the two properties there are six full time staff including themselves, plus seasonal workers. They also rely on a significant amount of contract work such as shearing, fencing, transport, spraying, harvesting, and more which drew local business and community for agricultural merchandise. Wainui Station and Viewfield Farms were two of the 17 properties used by Beef and Lamb NZ for developing Environment Canterbury’s Matrix of Good Management Practice programme in 2014.

Wainui Station included 3,800 freehold hectares, a diverse range of soils, over 500 hectares of irrigable flats, low lying fans and terraces, and medium-to-steep hill country rising to 1,021 metres above sea level.

Living in a harsh climate with a short growing season and a seasonal rainfall of 500–600mm per annum, with drought in the summer being common-place, meant having reliable access to water was crucial for their business.

“Irrigation means you know you can do your job and finish it,” Mrs Cameron said.

Although originally a dental nurse, over 36

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Sandy Cameron in the museum she has set up in the 1914 “Wainui” school house. time Mrs Cameron found it necessary to be involved with all things water, which began through involvement with irrigation and consents on her family’s property. After learning more Mrs Cameron began to share her expertise beyond their farm gates.

“There is a lot of complexity when it comes to water and water consents … nothing gives me more pleasure than helping a young farmer understand [their] water consent, or simply explaining how it works.”

Mrs Cameron said Wainui Station has been heavily involved with the resource management planning framework and water management over the past two decades.

For nine years Mrs Cameron has been the secretary of the Waitaki Independent Irrigators Inc., representing 52 properties, which falls under the umbrella of the Waitaki Irrigators Collective (WIC), a collective leading sustainable water planning processes for water users in the catchment, to enable the social and economic development and wellbeing of the Waitaki community.

Mrs Cameron has been involved in

providing submissions and evidence to the development of the Canterbury Natural Resources Regional Plan, the (abandoned) Project Aqua hydroelectricity proposal, the Resource Management (Waitaki Catchment) Amendment Bill, the Waitaki Catchment Water Allocation Regional Plan, as well as regional plan change processes.

As applicants seeking to renew existing consents we were caught up in the ministerial “call in” of Waitaki water permit applications in 2004 and subsequently the very complex Lower Waitaki hearings in 2008, she said.

They were an affected party (providing evidence) to the North Bank Tunnel Project, which was an application by Meridian Energy Ltd to take up to 260 cumecs of water from Lake Waitaki for the purpose of hydro generation. Meridian proposed to use “a threeand-a-half kilometre corridor of land through our productive flats to convey the water by open canal.”

She said this totally hijacked their lives for several years before it was abandoned in 2013.

“Our livelihoods were turned upside down,

everything we had worked for was at risk.”

At the same time, the Waitaki Catchment Water Allocation Regional Plan (WCWARP) which had been written by a governmentappointed board to allocate water to different activities in the catchment did not adequately provide for consent renewal applications. While the policies in the Plan acknowledged their priority over those seeking to take new water, hearings and subsequent appeals were still required, which were long, complicated processes and it was 2011 before the Cameron’s were finally granted consent renewal.

“Understanding the ongoing ins and outs of consenting has required an enormous amount of learning … I have my own copy of the Resource Management Act it’s amazing what you can actually remember when you need to.”

She had also been involved with submitting to provide evidence to the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan (fully operative in 2017) and the various Plan changes that have followed, more recently Plan Change 5 and associated nutrient management.

“There have now been seven Plan Changes in a period of two years, we no sooner finish submitting to one Plan and another is notified – in many instances before the former has even become operative.

“Farming can be very complex, there are a lot of variables across the regions, and issues in the Waitaki catchment can be very different to elsewhere.”

Although these processes have been difficult at times and have involved some head scratching moments, Mrs Cameron said they have created a focus on the health of water and ecosystems.

“Animal health is a big focus for us, always has been, and so is the environment, if you don’t look after your land you can’t look after your animals properly, they go hand in hand.”

WATER MANAGEMENT AT WAINUI STATION “At Wainui, we hold one Environment Canterbury resource consent (these were several separate permits but have all recently merged into one) to irrigate 510 hectares.”

Mrs Cameron said having this permit allowed them to invest in their property in order to increase efficiencies.

“These investments are not made lightly.

We know our land best and support good management practice. Any uncertainty created through yet further farming restraints increases our exposure to risk (financial) which in turn impacts on our investment decisions, and ultimately impacts the local economy.”

Wainui has had irrigation for over 40 years.

In the 1960s there were travelling wheel irrigators and hard hose guns before 2004, when K-Line (moveable pods), pivots, and fixed grid systems were installed.

Mrs Cameron said they were also lucky to have some self-irrigating soils, which meant, in places, the root zone met the water table.

The Camerons’ water permit is subject to the comprehensive suite of water quality conditions now likely to become widespread under the new proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.

In addition, their takes are telemetered, and they are registered on the Environment Canterbury Farm Portal for reporting purposes. Conditions of their water permit include: • Minimum flow restrictions • Implementing a Farm Environment Plan, which is audited on an annual basis, and must implement mandatory good management practices across the property • Undertaking OVERSEER nutrient budgeting and management • Fertiliser timing restrictions

• The requirement for fertiliser to be applied in accordance with the Code of Practice for Nutrient Management • Any new irrigation infrastructure is designed and certified by a suitably qualified independent expert • All irrigation infrastructure is to be tested on a regular basis in accordance with the Code of Practice for Irrigation Evaluation • Developing or maintaining riparian margins and shelter belts • Fencing of waterways • Other forms of riparian management.

Mrs Cameron said their daughter Georgie received an A Grade from Environment Canterbury for their first FEP audit. They are also inspected and audited annually

by AsureQuality, wholly owned by the New Zealand government to ensure produce meets with the highest standards of quality and safety. Part of their wool clip is purchased

by Global Merino and for this we need to be registered as Reasonable Wool Standard (RWS) to ensure our product meets the requirement of the end users, which meant their farm was inspected and audited by Global Merino.

Fencing waterways has become a requirement to many farming operations.

Over the years they have undertaken extensive fencing of waterways and more recently completed eight kilometres of double fencing, at a cost of $120,000 for labour and materials.

Mrs Cameron said as farmers it was always front of mind of how they could best steward their environment.

“We know we can’t farm without healthy water and land.”

However, from her experiences she feared future generations were at risk of drowning in paperwork.

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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

Sarah Eveleigh, Partner

p: 03 335 1235 m: 027 787 8785 david.goodman@al.nz

p: 03 335 1217 m: 027 204 1479 sarah.eveleigh@al.nz

IRRIGATION Insight ECONOMICALLY SOUND & ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE

The Irrigation Insight programme is examining the ease and effectiveness of using improved weather forecasting and soil moisture measurements for on-farm water management.

Find out more about the project and how the pilot farmers are using the tools and knowledge developed at: irrigationinsight.co.nz

Research Partner

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RISK PARTNER

Spring winds are coming – have an irrigator plan ready Advice from FMG. With spring winds on their way, FMG encourages farmers to have a plan ready for protecting irrigators against damage.

Wind damage remains the top cause of irrigator claims says rural insurer, FMG. In spring the frequency and severity of foehn winds rise which increases the risk of irrigators blowing over.

FMG’s Manager Advice, Stephen Cantwell said wind accounts for 34 percent of all claims.

“Over half of all FMG’s wind damage claims occur in spring. Corner arms are especially susceptible to damage during high winds because of their length and angle.

We’ve found that corner arms have also been damaged in up to six percent of wind claims,” said Mr Cantwell.

Through claims insights and alongside IrrigationNZ, FMG has developed a new Irrigation Guide to support farmers and growers to prevent irrigator damage. One key piece of advice in the guide is the importance of having a plan.

Mr Cantwell said “farmers and growers have told us that when a windstorm is on the way having a plan can really ease the pressure.

Now’s a great time to review or create your plan. Although it’s been a few years since

the Canterbury windstorms we can’t get complacent as we never know when the next one will strike.”

Another tip that the guide shares is to ‘Point, Park & Anchor’ your irrigator.

“We’ve found that pointing an irrigator either into or away from the wind (if possible) remains an effective way to reduce damage to your irrigator in high winds. IrrigationNZ and FMG have worked with farmers and found that irrigators parked in this position significantly reduce the probability of damage—reduces the surface area exposed to the wind.”

Once it is pointing into the prevailing wind, park it there until the winds dissipate. Lastly, make sure the irrigator is anchored correctly.

Other significant contributors to claims with FMG are the irrigator hitting something (27 percent), something hitting the irrigator (11 percent ) and mechanical and structural failure (8 percent). Advice on how to prevent these causes of damage are also included in the guide.

Mr Cantwell said we want to support farmers and growers to use irrigation as part of their operation as we see irrigation as an important part of supporting the growth of

strong and prosperous rural communities.

“The collaboration of farmers, growers, and other industry partners with IrrigationNZ and FMG helped identify key causes of irrigator damage, both from winds and operational accidents. To continue to help irrigator users throughout the country, we have developed this guide on how to mitigate irrigator risks and minimise the disruption should damage unfortunately occur.”

The full advice guide can be found at www.fmg.co.nz/irrigator

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How to stay safe this irrigation season

By Vicky Bloomer, IrrigationNZ Technical Manager.

It’s spring, and we all know that means it’s time to get our irrigators ready for the irrigation season. Safety as always is a key priority. Over the last five years, on average, IrrigationNZ partner FMG Insurance, paid out $2.5 million for irrigation related claims.

So how can you make sure that you do not become a statistic? By undertaking pre-season checks and maintenance.

Start at the intake and pump shed, check that screens in rivers are clear and any other filters are clean. A blocked in-take is a recipe for disaster for pump failures and damage to valves, nozzles and sprinklers.

Talking of pump failures, check pump safeties are working. Pumping to a dead head for a short period of time to test pressure and flow switches are functioning is valuable in

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comparison to the cost of these not working.

Check for any damage to wiring, pump sheds can be wet places and we all know water and electricity do not mix. While you are here, assess any cables for telemetry units reporting to Council. For diesel generators check there are no birds nesting to avoid fires.

Not only is checking the headworks important, but you need to get into the paddock and have a walk. Check your anchor points for travelling irrigators are secure and undamaged by any machinery or stock over winter. For pivots and linears, “check the track, to make it back”. Ensure any ruts are not too deep as to cause problems, no trees have branches that have encroached into the pivot circle waiting to catch the overhang and topple the machine. For drip and micro systems,

check for any major leaks and breaks, cycle through each block to ensure automated valves are operating as intended.

Pre-season CheCkLIst

These are just a few of the pre‑season checks to make.

You can find copies of the IrrigationNZ pre‑season checklists for each system type on our website or visit the IrrigationNZ E‑Learning Platform to access the checklists and watch the training content ‘Operation and Maintenance’.

Centre Pivot Linear Move and Irrigators

THIS CHECKLIST

This is a minimum

list of checks

BE SAFETY CONSC

of pivot and

linear systems

that should be made before – ELECTRICAL, the irrigation Checks include HEIGHT AND season starts. structural and MECHANICAL delivery and pressure. It can mechanical checks of the HAZARDS PRESEN structure, and be helpful if two people T. work together performance checks of • Begin the water flow, nozzle to perform checks. checks with the machine – Ensure the turned off electrical isolator switch is tagged/l – Observe the state of the ocked to prevent machine, looking accidental starting.

– Tighten, adjust, for damage or maintain or wear replace compone and tear.

• Make checks nts as required. with the system running – Consider which aspects require a qualified – Ensure the expert (e.g. electrica irrigator travel path is clear l).

– Check the before starting operation of the machine the machine . , drive system • Check system and nozzles. calibration – Ensure the depth and uniformi ty of applicati Many items on are as expected can . found OK. Make be fixed on-farm. Others require notes on the checklist overleaf specialist skills or equipme nt. Tick the check against items requiring boxes as each OTHER RESO follow-up attention item is .

URCE

IOUS

Pre-season CheCkLIst

System Operat

S

ion Manual Checks comple ted by:

Every system should be supplied include extra with a system checks not listed operatio Signatu your system. here.re: It will give more n manual. Read it and follow instructio detail than this ns. The manual checklistDate: including informat may ion specific to sts This checklist is only for the for the water centre pivot or linear move supply system (sYsteM machine itself.

See www.irrig (intakes, pumps not rUnnI ationnz.co.nz and mainlines nG) ) and for otherIrrigation New Zealand has additional checklist irrigation types.

Component Calibration s (sYsteM rUnnI Guideli Check nG) IRRIG8Lite software nes safety and IRRIG8Q systems can Compo uick system nent Electrical isolator be downloaded Check n guidelines switch is from www.pag calibratio tagged/l ebloome ocked and worksheets for Pivot point r.co.nz/re centre pivot Pivot point sources. and linear move For leaks, moveme Lubrication, nt grease riser and spans Drag hose (linear) For leaks along Condition of spans and other at towers connections

Other Checkli

SYSTEM OFF

towers

CHECKS

SYSTEM ON

Hose condition fittings secure and U joints for wear, replace if necessar y Cable and rod

Flanges – call service company if flanges leaking

towers

Motors, gear box and drive www.irrigationnz shaft operatio .co.nz or vibration n for noise sand trap

connections

sprinklers

Wheel lug bolts, condition and tyre pressure riser and spans

Gearboxes, drive shafts – lubricate as required

end gun, corners

Boots – tighten bands if necessary

sprinklers

Control unit Prepare to start

system pressure

Droppers for wear replace as necessaror damage, y

Gun angles are on and off at correct, turns right locations Corner arm sprinkler s turn on and off correctly Inlet pressure alternative – gauge with replace if necessary Inlet pressure

Electronic controls and battery charge Before starting: Ensure nothing is parked in front of the irrigator

Each sprinkler correctly and is turning cage not damaged Droppers for leaks, repair or replace as necessary

Operation

Connections Wiring and hydraulic lines Every sprinkler nozzle chart, against for damage and correct size

Empty and flush

Connections

Flanges end gun, corners

CHECKS

other

is correct

End pressure – above pressure regulator at last dropper

www.irrigationnz .co.nz

Fast track of Northland water storage set to lift GDP and employment Changes to the Resource Management Act to fast track infrastructure projects as part of the COVID-19 recovery have been welcomed by a much-anticipated water storage scheme in Northland.

A new reservoir near Kaikohe which will be available for farmers and growers for irrigation, as well as supporting town water supply for Kaikohe, is set to begin construction this year, the first of 17 infrastructure projects fast tracked under the new legislation.

The reservoir is just one in a series which are planned to be built by Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust on the northern Pouto Peninsular in Kaipara and in the Mid-North around Kaikohe. Combined, the water storage and distribution schemes would allow landowners to plan potential land use change with confidence and would support approximately 7,000ha of new horticultural development, an approximate 50 percent increase in Northland’s current area under production.

The Provincial Growth Fund has provided $67.5 for development of the schemes.

Construction of the first reservoir called Matawii, near Kaikohe was hoped to begin before the end of 2020. Two others, one each in the Mid-North and Kaipara, are planned to start early in 2021. Water could be available for use as early as summer 2022.

Previous studies analysed the entire province of Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) and determined the Mid-North and Kaipara were the best places to develop the schemes due to suitable horticultural soils, demand and opportunity due to climatic conditions and significant potential for economic growth of local communities.

Development of the scheme in the MidNorth is expected to potentially lift the areas’ GDP by $67 million per year and employment by 12 percent, and in Kaipara GDP could rise by $83 million per year and create a five percent lift in employment. The project also aimed to address disparities in Māori access to water for land development.

The scheme will create small scale reservoirs within both regions. These will be filled from natural water catchments during high flows. A network of pipes and pumps will then deliver water under pressure to landowners throughout the areas where water is available. Landowners who wish to have access to water will need to buy shares in the schemes, however final costs have not yet been

The Te Tai Tokerau Trust (TTWT) team at a potential resovoir site in Kaipara, (from left) Fiona Kemp, Te Uri o Hau; Snow Tane, Te Raroa; Anna Curnow, Kaipara District Council Deputy Mayor; Dover Samuels, TTTW Trustee; Ron Walters, Oturei Marae Trustee; Murray McCully, TTWT Trustee; Richard and Carly Smith, Kaipara landowners; and Kathryn de Bruin, TTWT Trustee. determined. Development of the full scheme is likely to be over a longer period in response to demand.

The Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust (TTTWT) was set up in June 2020 with the responsibility of developing the schemes. Made up of Northlanders, it is likely the Trust will transition to a private company once the schemes are established.

TTWT Chairman Murray McCully said while there might have been plenty of rain in Northland over winter there were still problems with water scarcity in the North, and the water storage scheme was a once in a lifetime transformational opportunity for the region.

“You only have to look to Kerikeri to see what a reliable source of water can do for a community. The success of the horticultural industry there has been largely built on the back of government funded reservoirs which were built in the 1980s. Now it’s time for other areas in Northland to get the same opportunity and we are very thankful for the government support to help us address the issue,” Mr McCully said.

The schemes would also be available to bolster municipal water supply to Dargaville and Kaikohe.

Preliminary geotechnical engineering

investigations have been completed at sites in both areas and archaeological work, conducted in partnership with local hapū, was also underway, Mr McCully said.

Project advisory group member, Terence Brocx, who owns a 200 cow dairy farm near Ohaeawai said there was strong interest in the project from within the wider primary sector in the Mid-North and a belief that there was significant potential to grow high-value horticulture in the region if a reliable source of water was available.

“The whole area is ripe for development because there are top class soils, which along with a desirable climate, has the ability to grow high value crops, but the only thing that is missing is reliable water,” Mr Brocx said.

“I’m excited about the prospect of what this water scheme could mean for the community and region.”

He said some landowners would develop their own land, some would diversify part of their property and some would sell to other developers who would be attracted to the region by the security a water scheme would provide for horticultural development.

“Either way, the region will benefit from increased investment and economic activity.”

IrrigationNZ sits on the project advisory group.

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Renewable energy prospect gets funding boost The Government will invest $30 million into investigating a proposed hydro storage scheme at Lake Onslow in the South Island.

The concept was developed by Associate Professor Earl Bardsley from the University of Waikato. The system would significantly expand New Zealand’s hydroelectric storage capacity, providing back-up power when other renewable energy sources were running low – a gap currently filled by coal and gas.

Dr Bardsley first researched the idea in 2004 after becoming concerned about the use of natural lakes, such as Tekapo and Pukaki, for hydro storage.

He said a soft-shored, beautiful, natural lake was not really the best place to have seasonal hydro storage.

“So my motivation back then was just to look around and find out if we could use pumped storage somewhere else to store water for hydroelectricity.”

“The only place in the country that I could find for large-scale storage was the Onslow basin. It’s a rock basin, so you can have lake water going up and down and it’s not going to erode the shoreline.”

Onslow was an artificial reservoir rather than a natural lake, located in the backcountry east of Roxburgh, Central Otago.

Dr Bardsley first published his findings in 2005, and submitted them to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in 2019 for their discussion document on renewable energy.

He learned of the $30 million investigation into his idea when it was announced by Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods on 26 July (2020).

“There are many facets to the business case for this large project and it is really pleasing to see sufficient funding given for a detailed review,” says Dr Bardsley.

Pumped hydro works by capturing and storing water at higher elevation. When there is abundant cheap electricity in the network, water is pumped uphill to a storage lake. When electricity runs low, the water is released back down, with the pumps operating in reverse to generate electricity.

Present Lake Onslow Reservoir on the left. The new dam would extend from this point right around to the far distant road on the right. Dam would be about 3.5 km in length for an expanded Lake Onslow, raised to 800 metres (120 metres above its present level). (Photo: Mohammed Majeed)

FLOATING WETLANDS TO MAINTAIN BIODIVERSITY Building the hydro storage facility would involve massively increasing the area of the Onslow reservoir. This would see some wetlands 42

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The Onslow Dam which creates the present Onslow Reservoir, showing water release to the Teviot River. Dam is about 10 metres high. The new earth dam would have a max height of 100m (if built). (Photo: Mohammed Majeed)

flooded, but Dr Bardsley says there could be solutions to this.

“One of the requirements of the business case is that investigations be carried out on options for generating net ecological gains.”

Dr Bardsley, suggested that Onslow’s wetlands could be transplanted onto an artificial floating structure, which would then move up and down with the lake level.

“And perhaps we could then have more wetlands area than we had before.”

Floating wetlands are currently used on a small scale around New Zealand to absorb nutrients and improve water quality; in Australia they have been used to create habitats for endangered species.

A SOLUTION TO THE ‘DRY YEAR PROBLEM’ AND MORE Hydro storage is particularly important for dry years, when there is not enough rainfall for hydroelectric generators to meet electricity demand.

“But it’s not going to just sit there, evaporating away, waiting for a dry year to come along – that would not be economical,” said Dr Bardsley.

He said Onslow could take some of the seasonal energy storage burden away from Lakes Pukaki and Tekapo, meaning they were less likely to overflow and cause flooding from major rain events.

That overflow also represents a lost opportunity to generate electricity, which can be reduced by having Onslow store much of the energy instead.

“Then even though you expend power to pump water uphill at Onslow, it gives you a net power gain for the system overall.”

The hydro storage is also useful to buffer the short-term fluctuations of wind power, so the scheme would be in continuous operation, he said.

“In fact, having 1000MW of new generating capacity represents an enabling mechanism for new wind power development, by avoiding the risk of wind power fluctuations destabilising the grid,” he says.

“The Tiwai point closure gives urgency for constructing Onslow. This is because in a few years, Manapōuri’s hydro power will be added into the grid, increasing the proportion of electricity which is subject to the risk of a dry year.”

NEXT STEPS The Government was now undertaking a detailed business case on energy storage solutions before it moves into more technical investigations.

“They’re going to have one year for a business case. They’ve allocated $30 million to that, most of which is likely to be spent on Onslow evaluations. If they pass that, there’s another $70 million already allocated for more geotechnical studies,” said Dr Bardsley.

“If Onslow is the selected option two years on, they will make a decision as to whether to go ahead and start building. That’s when something like $4 billion will need to be spent.”

While costly to develop, Dr Bardsley said Onslow pumped storage will lead to cheaper power in the long term, because having a large amount of stored energy drives down prices, similar to what we see today when heavy rainfall fills hydro lakes.

“It’ll have an enormous impact for many years to come, if they go ahead with it.”

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IRRIGATION NZ BANKING PARTNER

Freshwater use in NZ – we have to do it right

By Susan Kilsby, ANZ Agriculture Economist.

Irrigation is considered an important tool to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The 2020 United Nations World Water Development Report states: “Combining climate change adaptation and mitigation, through water, is a win-win proposal as improving the provision of water supply helps combat both the causes and impacts of climate change”.

“Improving the provision of water supply helps combat both the causes and impacts of climate change.”

Current global farming practices will not sustain the world’s future population. Many parts of Asia are expected to have water shortages in the future and will either have to become more efficient at using water, or will need to import more food.

The FAO estimates China is already irrigating nearly all of the land it potentially can. India is only irrigating about 50 percent of the area of land that could be irrigated but water shortages are expected to limit further expansion.

New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world with plenty of freshwater available.

However to capture the benefit of this valuable natural resource more water storage facilities are required.

New Zealand is already well connected with Asia from both a geographical and trade perspective. We are well positioned to benefit from the elevated levels of economic growth this region is experiencing relative to the rest of the world. Even in the subdued economic environment China’s economic is expected to grow this year. The IMF has forecast the economies of emerging and developing Asia will contract by just 0.8 percent in 2020 compared to the global average growth rate of -4.9 percent. Asian consumers are highly conscious of food safety and quality. As average incomes in these regions grow so will their demand for high quality imported food.

Irrigation provides an opportunity for New Zealand to increase productivity levels and allows more diverse uses of land. Irrigation is also a tool that can be used to manage

RENEWABLE INTERNAL FRESHWATER RESOURCES PER CAPITA (CUBIC METRES) Thousand m³ per capita

90 80

70 60 50 40 30 20

World average

10

India

South Asia

China

European Union

Sub-Saharan Africa

United States

Australia

Latin America/ Caribbean

Russia

New Zealand

Canada

0

Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic metres).

(Source: Aquastat 2014. Renewable internal freshwater resources flows refer to internal renewable resources (internal river flows and groundwater from rainfall) in the country. Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita are calculated using the World Bank’s population estimates.)

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weather and climatic risks and therefore also mitigate financial risks.

Producing more with less is becoming increasingly important as the agricultural sector faces limits and costs associated with greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient emissions.

This trend is encapsulated in the government road-plan for the primary sector “Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential” which recognises the importance of irrigation.

Maintaining production and profitability whilst reducing emissions is a massive challenge for our primary sectors. The government would like to see an extra $44 billion of export earnings generated, in total, over the next decade which is an ambitious target.

To even get part way down this road there is no doubt we need to dedicate more land to high returning uses, many of which will require irrigation.

Improving water storage has been identified by the government as a transformational opportunity to improve productivity. While this is not new thinking for most of the primary sector is good to see the current and potential value of irrigation being recognised by the central government.

An increase in small scale water storage is expected to generate an additional $500 million by 2030, with $300 million coming from horticulture, an extra $100 million from dairy and $100 million from meat and wool. This investment is also haled to build community resilience to climate pressures.

A study by NZIER1 based on data from 2011-12 identified that irrigation contributed $1 billion in export earnings. No doubt export earnings that could be attributed to irrigation will have expanded even further in the past decade, but generating an additional $500 million from new irrigation is still a lofty target.

Irrigation reduces the risk of not being able to efficiently finish livestock, enables more flexible farming systems, and reduces the risk of having to off-load stock during dry periods 1. NZIER and AgFirst Consultants NZ Ltd. (2014).

Value of irrigation in New Zealand: An economywide assessment. Retrieved from: https:// www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/5014/send

when market prices are typically low, or cut short the milk production season.

Intensification of systems, whether due to irrigation or not, can result in a higher nutrient loading, coming either directly from the extra livestock being carried or from increased use of fertilisers. However, irrigation done well reduces nitrogen run-off, by ensuring that the water is delivered to dissolve the fertiliser at precisely the time that the plant requires it and is able to absorb it. If rain is forecast on dryland pasture, fertiliser is spread, but then the rain doesn’t arrive, that fertiliser will dissolve at some later date which may not be the optimal time for the plant to adsorb it. Too much rain and/or a lack of uptake by the plant and the nutrients will leach through the soil into waterways.

Our farming and orchard management systems are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated, including our irrigation systems.

Water and nutrients are increasingly being applied in a more precise manner based on soil data readings and/or sophisticated modelling.

The need to place water more efficiently onto the land, and in a more automated way, is reflected in the move away from flood irrigation to pivot irrigators.

Irrigation has a role to play in enabling

IRRIGATION BY TYPE IN NEW ZEALAND Gun Borderdyke Lateral & linear boom Other or unknown Pivot K-Line/Long lateral Rotorainer Drip/micro Irrigation by type in New Zealand. (Source: StatsNZ) alternative land uses. The ability to apply water when required means land can sustain a wider range of enterprises, particularly more intense arable and horticultural uses. Without access to water it would be too risky to invest in a number of these higher-value crops. Some crops don’t require a large quantity of water, relative to pastures, but they do require water at strategic times.

New Zealand has an opportunity to continue to grow our role as a reliable supplier of high quality, ethically produced food. Used appropriately, irrigation can enable a wider range of crops to be grown, improve animal welfare, and reduce greenhouse gas and nutrient emissions, but used inappropriately it can enable negative environmental outcomes.

We have to do this right.

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Seasonal climate outlook September–November 2020 OUTLOOK SUMMARY September–November 2020 air pressure is forecast to be higher than normal to the east and lower than normal to the northwest of New Zealand. This is expected to be associated with La Niña-like north-easterly air flow anomalies. The probability for oceanic La Niña conditions is 57 percent. The majority of NIWA’s criteria for “La Niña Alert” have now been met, including increased trade winds in the equatorial Pacific, an atmospheric response that is La Niña-like, and an expectation for these conditions to continue. This is consistent with other international agencies. New Zealand’s coastal water temperatures are well above average for the time of year and are expected to have an upward influence on air temperatures through spring. Air temperatures are most likely to be above average in all regions of New Zealand. Cold snaps and frosts can be expected in typically colder locations early in the season. Rainfall is about equally likely to be near normal or above normal in the north of the North Island, most likely to be near normal in the east of the North Island, and about equally likely to be near normal or below normal in all other regions. North-easterly winds are expected to continue to leave northern areas, such as Northland, the Coromandel Peninsula, and the East Cape, exposed to sub-tropical

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Photo: Caswell Images.

rain storms while interior and western areas of the both islands remain sheltered from moisture, particularly in South Canterbury, Otago, the West Coast, and Southland. Soil moisture levels are most likely to be below normal in the west and east of the South Island with river flows in the east most likely to be below normal. Near normal soil moisture levels

PRODUCT & SERVICES DIRECTORY and river flows are most likely in the east of the North Island.

For all other regions, soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal or below normal.

REGIONAL PREDICTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER 2020

Non-Evaporating ECOBAG™ Water Storage for Irrigation 1000-15000 cube

Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty • Temperatures are very likely to be above average (60% chance).

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40% chance) or above normal (35% chance).

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

Central North Island, Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu, Wellington • Temperatures are very likely to be above average (60% chance).

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40% chance) or below normal (35% chance).

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

Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa • Temperatures are most likely to be above average (50% chance).

• Rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (45% chance).

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be near normal (45% chance).

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GRP FOR YOUR IRRIGATION NEEDS

Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough, Buller • Temperatures are very likely to be above average (60% chance).

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40% chance) or below normal (35% chance).

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal (35-40% chance) or below normal (40% chance).

West Coast, Alps and foothills, inland Otago, Southland • Temperatures are very likely to be above average (60% chance).

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40% chance) or below normal (45% chance).

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

Coastal Canterbury, east Otago • Temperatures are very likely to be above average (60% chance).

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (35% chance) or below normal (40% chance).

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

Probabilities 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% 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.

WIND vs IRRIGATOR Don’t throw caution to the wind, head to fmg.co.nz/irrigators to make a plan or call us on 0800 366 466.

We’re here for the good of the country.

This is an extract of the Seasonal Climate Outlook published

by NIWA. SPRING 2020 IRRIGATION NZ NEWS

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3D aquifer mapping – data an asset to community Cutting edge scientific information is soon going to be available thanks to the 3D aquifer mapping project in the Hawke’s Bay. The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council 3D aquifer mapping survey carried out by SkyTem Australia finished in February 2020.

The helicopter flew more than 8000 kilometres over the region mapping the Heretaunga Plains, Ruataniwha Plains and Otane and Poukawa Basins.

Preliminary processing of the data has been carried out by SkyTem Australia and shared with regional council and GNS scientists. The map shows the first peek of preliminary processed data at a depth of 20 metres.

The aquifer mapping project is part of a regional water security programme and the recent drought has highlighted the importance of having reliable access to water and information about it.

The council is leading and co-funding a package of four freshwater security initiatives, in partnership with the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund. These are the 3D Aquifer Mapping Project and whole

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The 3D aquifer mapping aerial survey being carried out in central Hawke’s Bay. region freshwater assessment which are underway, and investigations into a Heretaunga flow maintenance/water storage initiative.

Going forward the council is in the process of getting quotes for telescopic drilling to 300 metres and planning locations to undertake this drilling which is set to be completed by July 2021. This will be used to validate the SkyTem data. Investigations are also underway looking at the best options for making data and models readily accessible and have developed a prototype system for user-testing.

IRRIGATION IN PICTURES

What is irrigation used for in New Zealand?

Vegetable production

Fruit & wine production

Grains & cereal crops

90% of New Zealand

Over 58% of commercial production is from irrigated land

52% of crops

land growing commercial vegetables is irrigated

are grown on irrigated land

Dairy

Sheep & Beef

26% of New Zealand

2% of New Zealand sheep and beef grazing land is irrigated

dairy grazing land is irrigated

*Note – Figures are taken from the 2017 Agricultural Production Survey.

Based on industry knowledge, IrrigationNZ estimates that the use of irrigation for fruit, wine, sheep and beef production is higher than shown.

Figures do not include livestock grazed on irrigated land for finishing.

Economic Output by Land Use Sector

New Zealand has approximately 800,000 hectares of irrigated land – 7% of its total agricultural land.

59% Dairy 17% Sheep & Beef 13% Grain Crops 4% Vegetables 3% Wine 2% Fruit 2% Other

Dairy

Kiwifruit, Berries & Flowers

Citrus, Other Fruit & Veggies

TOWNS WHICH SOURCE THEIR DRINKING WATER FROM IRRIGATION SCHEMES:

Kerikeri, Timaru and Oamaru.

THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF IRRIGATION TO NEW ZEALAND

$5.4 billion

Irrigation contributes over to New Zealand’s GDP (NZIER).

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Three waters need to be handled with a joint approach to all water management IrrigationNZ believes Government investment in the water sector is a step in the right direction – but calls for a broader strategy to encompass all water infrastructure, including storage and policy development.

In early July, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced the Government will invest $761 million as part of the three waters infastrucuture stimulus package, for a much-needed upgrade to water services across the country.

In late July, the Government introduced legislation as part of the three waters regulatory reform to Parliament to transform drinking water safety in New Zealand and improve environmental outcomes for our wastewater and stormwater networks.

This Bill comprises a significant part of the Government’s response to the inquiry report and is modelled on the core fundamental principles of drinking water safety as identified by the Inquiry.

These include: • A high standard of care must be embraced in relation to drinking water • The protection of source water is of paramount importance.

• Multiple barriers against contamination of drinking water must be maintained.

• Water contamination is almost always preceded by change and these changes must never be ignored.

• Suppliers must guarantee the safety of drinking water; and • A preventative risk management approach must be applied in relation to drinking water.

IrrigationNZ Chief Executive Elizabeth Soal said the proposal to reform water service delivery into large-scale multi-regional providers (for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater) will provide greater opportunities for investment in water infrastructure (such as water storage) that will improve outcomes beyond three waters, to include water for irrigation, reallocation, and the environment.

“Small local authorities have been constrained from large-scale investments due to restrictions on their borrowing ability, smaller balance sheets, and small rating bases. An amalgamated model could facilitate borrowing for larger water projects.”

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The Government is reviewing how to improve the regulation and supply arrangements of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater (three waters) to better support New Zealand’s prosperity, health, safety, and environment. Most three waters assets and services, but not all, are owned and delivered by local councils.

The Three Waters Review is a cross-government initiative led by the Minister of Local Government. Other involved agencies and portfolios include: Health, Environment, Finance, Business Innovation and Employment, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Primary Industries, Climate Change, Infrastructure, Civil Defence and Emergency Management, Housing and Urban Development, Transport, Conservation, and Rural Communities.

The Review, began in mid-2017, ran in parallel to the latter stages of the Government Inquiry into Havelock North Drinking Water, which was set up following the campylobacter outbreak in 2016.

Up to 5,500 people were ill as a result and four people are thought to have died from associated causes.

The initial findings of the Review were consistent with many of the Havelock North Inquiry’s findings and raised broader questions about the effectiveness of the regulatory regime for the three waters, and the capability and sustainability of water service providers.

IrrigationNZ has been advocating for some time for the need for New Zealand to develop an overarching water strategy to guide our planning at the national and regional levels.

“While we are seeing a focus on water from across various policy areas such as the primary sector’s Fit for a Better World, the Essential Freshwater policy package, the creation of the drinking water authority Taumata Arowai and now water services delivery – we are yet to see a joined up approach. This will be particularly important if we are to have a national conversation about water allocation and are to address the still unresolved issue of Māori rights and interests in freshwater.”

“In terms of today’s announcement, the Government has also signalled incentive funding for rural drinking water supplies. The irrigation sector already owns some of this infrastructure and we look forward to working with the Government on this,” said Ms Soal.

WATER IS A PRECIOUS RESOURCE

SCADAfarm is here to help you manage it wisely

Having accurate soil moisture and temperature data at your fingertips can help you optimise your irrigation plan, save water and find the right balance to maximise crop growth and quality.

Deciding when to irrigate, how much water to put on and in what precise spot, are complex decisions that can affect the success of your operation.

SCADAfarm Soil Moisture can help you: • Avoid over-watering.

• Optimise plant growth.

• Support environmental responsibilities.

• Make important irrigation management decisions.

Find out how SCADAfarm can meet your needs.

Call (06) 876 8178, visit scadafarm.com or contact your local WaterForce reseller and installer on 0800 4 36723.

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Irrigation ca.1921-1924, courtesy State Library of NSW

TOGETHER WE’VE COME A LONG WAY

For generations farming has evolved to meet challenges.

The demands have been vast and rigorous requiring innovative solutions to be at the forefront.

Like you, Zimmatic has risen to the challenge with our variable rate irrigation system - Zimmatic Precision VRI™.

Enabling customisation of your water and nutrient application over multiple crops, soil types and terrain and with any pivotal system.

Talk to a Zimmatic dealer today about how this innovative solution can maximise your yield and profitability. www.zimmaticanz.com

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