Executive Summary
The primary objective of this project was to demonstrate that improvements to the design of a cropping farm irrigation system were financially beneficial. A 164 ha spray irrigation farm near Darfield on the Canterbury Plains that grows a range of crops was chosen for this study.
This case study has demonstrated that improvements to the design of the cropping farm irrigation system are financially beneficial. On this property, the irrigation system capacity was insufficient to meet peak crop water requirements. Three options for improving the irrigation system were investigated. The selected option involved changes to the pumping system (to increase the flow rate available from the well), and improvements to both the irrigation system and the way it is managed. Together, these changes result in an increase in system capacity of 17 percent. The estimated capital cost of the upgrading the irrigation system is $66,500 + GST.
The anticipated financial benefits of upgrading the irrigation system were estimated by obtaining information on crop yields prior to and after upgrading the irrigation system together with gross margin figures for the various crops. It is anticipated that the increased financial benefits of upgrading the irrigation system would vary between $7,000 and $46,000 + GST per annum depending on the seasonal rainfall.
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