The end of the irrigation season is near

A year on from a similar article I wrote in this publication, and we are still embroiled in some challenging situations, into the third year of a global pandemic; on top of that we are concerned by global headlines and adapting family routines to periods of isolation and many of us still working from home.

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In amongst this turmoil, I am pleased to say we still have the reassurance that our farmers and growers are toiling away playing a vitally important role in the stability of our communities. For our farmers and growers, the normality of routines with their animals and crops keeps the focus on realities close at hand like extreme weather events and market supply chain disruption. Irrigation and our critical water infrastructure play a key role in our resilience. As the season changes to colder mornings and wetter days our farm routines need to take the opportunity to look at what’s on the agenda for winterisation of systems. It’s a great time to undertake the check-ups to ensure any repairs and maintenance can be achieved, as well as thinking about protection against the extremes of the coming season. If you’ve been noting down damage or signs of wearing parts on your to do list, it would be good to get on to any repairs soon so that supply chains that may be stretched and doesn’t mean you run out of time before spring rolls around again. Get your pumps, filters and valves checked for function and leaks, making sure you follow the processes set down by your equipment supplier. Before you start have a good read of the Practical Resources in the IrrigationNZ web page where we set out some sound advice on maintenance points. Ensure you follow any safety recommendations and if you are tempted to work around electrical equipment— you probably shouldn’t. For anything that you are not sure of I really do recommend you get a service visit booked in by your accredited service provider. As the winter storms sweep across that land make sure any equipment that is vulnerable to wind damage is parked up appropriately or anchored down to avoid costly roll overs. Make sure you and your staff think about any changes you are making to layouts or where other farm equipment is parked or stored so you keep wheel tracks clear for when you want to get under way again. While all that on the ground activity is occurring be reassured the team at IrrigationNZ is working hard to navigate the complexities of the ever shifting and expanding policy environment. We are directly involved in representing irrigated farming issues in many government agency forums that are redefining the way in which New Zealand looks to manage the value, benefits, and obligations of use of freshwater, nutrients, and water infrastructure. We provide pragmatic representation on many governments led working groups such as the roll out of the dam safety regulations where we are looking to ensure low risk dams and those under the size thresholds are appropriately handled, whilst also recognising the need for community certainty when these structures are larger needing suitably qualified design and assessment. IrrigationNZ is delivering more training in both face to face and online formats as part of an overall career development pathway. Teaching skills and knowledge that can be used to keep training and upskilling available across the irrigation sector.

STEPHEN MCNALLY PRINCIPAL TECHNICAL ADVISOR

Stephen McNally is Principal Technical Advisor at IrrigationNZ bringing his knowledge of irrigation systems and water infrastructure to drive sound policy development, produce education resources and support collaboration across irrigated farming operations and water storage schemes.