Volume 12 Issue 9 October New Zealand
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…
Chris Gargan and Joel Irving: Providing Global Screening Solutions at International Water Screens
One challenge that is common to irrigation districts and water users worldwide is the need to remove debris and other substances from water while also protecting fish and other wildlife. Screens that can filter out debris without harming fish are important tools for doing just that. International Water Screens (IWS) is a global leader in the design of fixed and moving screens. Its screens are custom built to customers’ needs, feature state-of-the-art features to filter out debris while preserving fish, and are designed to last. In this interview, IWS Vice President Chris Gargan and Sales Representative Joel Irving tell Irrigation Leader about IWS’s product line and how it is expanding…
Worthington’s Offerings for New Zealand
New Zealand’s Otago region produces top-quality fruit, wines, crops, and livestock, and to do that, it needs water. In recent years, there have been persistent disagreements between the central government, the regional council, environmental interests, and community members about how to manage water in the catchment. Points of contention include how to distribute stored water, how to pay for water infrastructure, and what levels of flow must be preserved in the rivers. Gary Kelliher has addressed these issues from many angles. Himself a farmer, he has also served as the chair of an irrigation scheme and the deputy chair of an independent, catchment-wide strategy group, and he is currently a…
Ecological Sustainability Should Be Our Goal By Scott J. Cameron
As legislative and administrative solutions to climate change are being debated in Washington, DC, I encourage Congress and the Biden administration to step back and consider the larger challenge so that we accurately define the problem and can intelligently craft solutions to achieve our goals. The big picture is our need for ecological sustainability, of which climate change is just one of four dimensions. The three other key legs of the ecological sustainability stool in the United States include controlling invasive species; managing range and forest lands; and striking the right balance between extensive and intensive food production. Addressing global temperature alone is not enough to achieve ecological sustainability. Unless…
Agri-Inject: A Pioneer in the Chemigation Field
Since the 1980s, Yuma, Colorado–based Agri-Inject has been advancing the use of mobile irrigation systems to apply fertilizer and chemicals in liquid form. This method of application, known as chemigation or fertigation, allows for the quick, low-volume, and continuous application of fertilizers and chemicals, thus spoon-feeding crops no more than they can absorb and preventing leaching and nitrate pollution. In this interview, Agri‑Inject CEO Erik Tribelhorn tells Irrigation Leader about the company’s role in developing chemigation from its beginnings and what the company is doing today.
Regional Councilor Gary Kelliher: Managing Water Use in the Otago Region
New Zealand’s Otago region produces top-quality fruit, wines, crops, and livestock, and to do that, it needs water. In recent years, there have been persistent disagreements between the central government, the regional council, environmental interests, and community members about how to manage water in the catchment. Points of contention include how to distribute stored water, how to pay for water infrastructure, and what levels of flow must be preserved in the rivers. Gary Kelliher has addressed these issues from many angles. Himself a farmer, he has also served as the chair of an irrigation scheme and the deputy chair of an independent, catchment-wide strategy group, and he is currently a…
Volume 12 Issue 8 September New Zealand
By Kris Polly New Zealand’s productive irrigated agriculture is a key part of its national economy and helps make it a top global dairy exporter. Anyone who has visited New Zealand’s irrigated farms also knows that New Zealand farmers are innovative and are always looking for cost-effective ways to improve their operations. I am pleased to be launching a new online New Zealand edition of Irrigation Leader to help strengthen the connections— personal, commercial, and technological—between U.S. and New Zealand irrigated ag. Elizabeth Soal, the former chief executive of Irrigation New Zealand, will be serving as a contributing editor, helping us to identify the most essential stories and technologies to…
