Irrigation NZ hits the road to make irrigation pay

News Release
September 29, 2010

Irrigation NZ hits the road to make irrigation pay

– reducing your energy bill

With increasing expectancy for efficient use of water, the need to make irrigation pay has never been greater. Today efficient irrigation is a requirement not an option.

Following a number of requests Irrigation NZ (INZ) will be on the road in October delivering a programme of information in workshops around the country that will help support communities in the development of quality irrigation and system management.

In recognising that irrigation in the drier areas of New Zealand is not insurance, but a necessary farm input, EECA has supported INZ with the development of the programme. The workshop delivery nationally has been made possible with the support of Agmardt and Fonterra.

While a necessary farm input, INZ acknowledges that water is a valuable resource with increasing competition for it. Constraints such as annual allocation limits are becoming tighter and performance level expectations are being raised.

An efficient irrigation system is one that is designed to be efficient and is operated efficiently. Design sets the platform for efficient use. If a system is not designed correctly it cannot be operated efficiently.

From an irrigation design perspective the three things that irrigators, or prospective irrigators, need to be aware of are what a good design is, what poor design costs in terms of performance and what to look out for when operating the system.

The key message is that appropriate standards and performance levels have to be specified at the design stage, and when a system is operating, measurements taken to see if it meets those performance levels. The INZ Design Code is a good start.

The core of this year’s programme will focus on reducing the energy bill through understanding the importance of pump efficiency and the launch of the Farmers Guide: Irrigation Decision Support Package – providing a tool box for farmers to determine the best irrigation solutions for their farm.

The development of this programme has been possible with the support of EECA. MAF/MfE will work in with the programme to provide irrigators first- hand with an overview of the Government’s National Regulations for Water Measuring (section 360), gazetted in August and due to come into force on November 10.
The programme will also take in farmer case studies relevant to each region where the workshops are being conducted.

The October ‘Making Irrigation Pay’ roadshow will be in Marlborough on October 4th, Tasman 5th, Wairarapa 6th Manawatu 7th, Hawkes Bay 8th, North Canterbury (Culverden) 11th, Gore 12th, Alexandra 13th, Waitaki 14th, Ashburton 28th and Central Canterbury (Dunsandel) 29th.

More information and the full programme for each of the workshops can be found at www.irrigationnz.co.nz

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