1 Introduction
1.1 BACKGROUND
Within its overall objective of promoting sustainable farm and orchard management planning, MAF Policy has designed a research program with the aim of developing procedures that lead to sustainable irrigation and to have those procedures adopted and used by the New Zealand farming industry.
In a previous study funded by MAF Policy (MAF Policy Technical Paper 00/03), a set of indicators that farmers could use to measure and report on the sustainability of their irrigation management practices was developed. This study was followed by the development of best management guidelines for sustainable irrigated agriculture. (MAF Policy Technical Paper 00/05).
To ensure that the Best Management Guidelines developed in the 1996/97 year were workable, sensible, and could be used to improve the sustainability of irrigation water use on farms, two follow-up projects were implemented. The first was to test the measurement and use of the indicators, and the second to test the use of the Guidelines. The first project was completed by Agriculture NZ and Lincoln Environmental completed the second. This case study, which complements the testing of the Best Management Guidelines and also fits within the MAF Policy framework of sustainable irrigation, was completed at the same time.
Three factors led to the initiation of this case study.
The first was in February 1998, when it became apparent that the objectives of the study to test the Best Management Guidelines on the cropping farm could only be partially achieved. The circumstances that led to this situation related to an unexpected very early start to the irrigation season, an unseasonably hot and dry summer, unexpected difficulties with flow measurement, and delays in equipment supply. After consultation with MAF Policy, it was considered that the time and effort would be better spent in an alternative way.
The second was that the design audit of the irrigation system on the cropping farm identified significant problems with the system, making it difficult to achieve efficient irrigation practices. This provided an opportunity to illustrate the benefits of design improvements.
The third related to one of the outcomes of a workshop held in June 1997 to discuss the suitability of the indicators and likely adoption of best management practices for irrigation. The main finding was that farmers would require evidence to show that the benefits of improved irrigation system design and management exceeded the costs, because without some financial advantage to farmers, they would probably not be adopted.
1.2 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objective of the project was to investigate the financial viability of improving the design of the cropping farm irrigation system. The specific intention was to identify the problems with the existing system and to quantify the cost of those problems to the farm in terms of lost yield and additional expense. Three irrigation options for improving the system were to be considered and costed. From this, a preferred option was to be selected by the farmer. For the chosen option, potential yields and the costs of obtaining these yields were to be estimated so that the costs and benefits of the option could be calculated.
The expectation was that the case study would demonstrate, with an actual situation, the benefits of an efficiently designed system over an existing system.
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