By Kris Polly The success and flourishing of an irrigation district depend on many things—weather, funding, upkeep, modernization, and planning, for instance—but perhaps no factor counts as much as does a good manager. A manager must know their district’s distinctive characteristics and challenges, their employees, and their board. And they must have a clear vision of the future and what it will take to bring their district success.  This month, we bring you our first Managers Issue since January 2020. In this issue, we interview 21 managers, hailing from across the western United States and even across the world, about their top issues, their training and safety programs, the lessons…

By Kris Polly This month, we are pleased to feature Waimate District Mayor Craig Rowley in our cover story. Water is the lifeblood of this highly agricultural district, and Mayor Rowley gives us a good sense of how national regulations and reform proposals are affecting it on a local level. We also bring you several stories of U.S. water management policy. The new commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, Camille Calimlim Touton, is from Nevada and is a well-known friend of the western water community. She has many years of experience in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee, and she previously served as…

By Kris Polly Andy Hayes is a fifth-generation farmer in the Waitaki District of New Zealand’s South Island. In addition to running his farm, he is the chair of Haka Valley Irrigation Ltd. (HVIL), a small irrigation scheme, and a director of the Waitaki Irrigators Collective (WIC), which promotes the interest of local schemes and independent offtakers. In our cover interview, he gives us insight into the hard work of local farmers and small-scale irrigators. This year, Nebraska’s national resources districts (NRDs) are celebrating a half-century of achievements in soil and water conservation work with open houses, events, and more, as we learn in our cover interview with Dean Edson,…

By Kris Polly In this month’s issue, we interview Keri Johnston, the chair of Irrigation New Zealand (IrrigationNZ). a member-founded industry organization committed to representing the interests of New Zealand’s irrigation sector and promoting best practices across the industry. Under Ms. Johnston’s direction, IrrigationNZ is working hard to make New Zealand irrigators’ voices heard in Wellington and across the country.  In this issue, we also talk to a number of Nebraska water professionals. Nebraska-based water lawyer Tom Wilmoth is also a cofounder of Zipline Brewing, which has created 36 jobs with its brewery in Lincoln and retail locations in Lincoln and Omaha. Not only is making beer a way of…

By Kris Polly I recently had the opportunity to attend a rugby match between the New Zealand and U.S. national teams in Washington, DC. New Zealand readers will not be surprised to hear that the All Blacks racked up a severely lopsided win, although the U.S. team did score its first ever try against New Zealand. Like everyone who has the chance to see the All Blacks in action, I was impressed by their skill and hard work. This month in Irrigation Leader, we feature the story of one former All Black, Sam Broomhall, who has brought those same qualities to his work as a managing director for irrigation supply…

By Kris Polly Many things come together to make irrigated agriculture possible: infrastructure, including dams, reservoirs, and canals; new inventions to promote safe water delivery; education for professionals; and governmental relations work to ensure that legislators understand what farmers need to be successful.  All these things come together at Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Limited (ALIL). ALIL has piped its system and added turnout water meters and other technology, all while encouraging its shareholders to be more efficient on farm and navigating the changing New Zealand regulatory environment. In this month’s cover story, ALIL General Manager Rebecca Whillans tells us about ALIL’s system improvements and its plans for the future.  Also in…