An aerial view of dairy operations under a center pivot on New Zealand's Canterbury Plain. The main pivot and the first and second towers are oversized to clear buildings. The fencing between the irrigated wedge pastures is electrified to keep cattle in and spring loaded to allow pivot towers to cross.
The South Island’s Efficient Irrigated Dairy Farming
T
he Canterbury Plains area of New Zealand’s South Island is a rich area of surface-water-irrigated dairy and crop farming. Its large schemes, similar to American irrigation districts, draw water from the alpine rivers and convey it via pressurized pipes and open channels to the region’s highly efficient farms. John Nicholls is a dairy farmer as well as the chair of MHV Water, one of New Zealand’s largest irrigation schemes; he is also a director of a number of other large businesses that provide services into the agricultural industry. In this interview with Irrigation Leader Managing Editor Joshua Dill, Mr. Nicholls explains why New Zealand dairy farmers are so efficient and highlights the distinctive features that set New Zealand’s irrigated agriculture apart from that of the United States. Joshua Dill: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
14 | IRRIGATION LEADER
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KRIS POLLY.
John Nicholls: It wasn’t until my late 20s that I started dairy farming. I had graduated from university, traveled the world and worked in a number of professional occupations, including sales and marketing, but I hadn’t found my niche. Dairy farming was that niche. I quickly learned that the most important thing about business is employing the right people and having the right team around you. My wife and I struggled the first couple years; she had to go back to work to support the business while we had a young family. Once we got the right people
around us and the right management team, our business grew reasonably quickly. We were reasonably aggressive—we bought and sold property in the Wairarapa, in the southern part of New Zealand’s North Island. The area has quite a harsh climate to farm in, with wet winters and dry summers, and our property had no irrigation. We quickly learned that we needed irrigation to build the resilience of our revenue. We purchased an irrigated property, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities irrigation provided. We leased another irrigated property and spent another 10 years in the North Island before deciding to sell and head south to Canterbury. We sold the majority of our business on the North Island, shifted our family to the South Island, and purchased two irrigated dairy farms in an area where, at that stage, there was an abundance of water and an abundance of opportunity. From that point, again employing great people, we began building our business. Today, we own 6 dairy farms with 5,000 cows and employ just under 35 people. When I was first elected to the board of Mayfield Hinds Irrigation Limited (MHIL), it was solely a water supply company. Within a reasonably short period, I was elected chair and we started to develop the company. Today, it is a multifaceted service operation that not only delivers water but also manages environmental consents for its farmershareholders and engages in education and advocacy. Again, I knew we needed the right people, and we recruited a new chief
