The biennial event runs from April 5 to 7 in Oamaru, featuring a day of field trips and two days of workshops and keynote addresses.
“We worked with a group of irrigating farmers from the district to put the programme together,” INZ’s Chris Coughlan says.
Sydney-based author, journalist, and authority on food security, Julian Cribb, will speak about opportunities to export NZ’s knowledge, and Christopher Neale of the Water for Food Institute, Nebraska, will discuss how irrigation and food production around the world is evolving and what it might look like by 2050.
Coughlan says there’s no need to make workshop choices when registering, but anticipates the sessions on SMART irrigation, irrigation on hills, Overseer, measuring-monitoring-managing data, and staffing, will be of interest to dairy farmers, as will many of the “showcase sessions”.
“We think the workshops will be of huge value for farmer delegates.”
Other keynote speakers are Peter Biggs, current chair of economic development for the Wellington region and a former top advertising executive, California State University Professor Stuart Styles and Dr Robert Milla of Queensland’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Speakers from four parts of NZ will offer their take on managing to environmental limits and industry good practice, before INZ chief executive Andrew Curtis wraps up with “What next for Water Management in NZ”.
Pre-conference tours are an optional extra with a choice of a full day tour or one of two half-day options on Tuesday April 5th.
Irrigation accreditation tipping point
If you’re ordering a new irrigation system you’ll soon have a much wider choice of accredited providers, says Irrigation New Zealand. Several major players are in the process of gaining accreditation so by Easter there could be a choice of five or six accredited suppliers to choose from.
Using an accredited supplier means the system provided must be 80% efficient and fit for purpose, so buyers can be more confident in what they’re getting.
“To be accredited companies have to supply our accreditation panel with two designs and demonstrate how, as a company, they have the checks and balances in the design, installation and commissioning processes that ensures that 80% water use efficiency standard is met.”
In the unlikely event a system from an accredited supplier doesn’t meet specification then there’s an agreed process to remedy, backed by the industry body, he adds.
The stipulation by the Central Plains Irrigation Scheme that systems must be installed by an accredited provider has helped spur more companies to sign up, said INZ project manager Steve Breneger . Also, as farmers seek to renew consents, or apply for new ones, they’ll increasingly find regional authorities insisting accredited suppliers are used.
The 80% water use efficiency standard won’t prevent accredited suppliers fitting systems such as K-Line or even border-dyke that don’t meet that standard, but there would need to be good reason for their use instead of a more efficient system.
• Early-bird registration is $517 for INZ members; $690 for non-members. See www.irrigationnz.co.nz
