Farm Environment Plan

Irrigation Design

The new pivot at Five Forks was designed and installed by Grafton Irrigation Limited. Commissioning was not completed when Grafton ceased trading so we are bucket testing it.

The new fixed grid is self-installed.

Bucket Testing informs the application depth of each irrigator.

Irrigation Scheduling

A calibrated handheld Campbell Scientific HS2 probe is used to measure soil moisture before irrigation is started, or restarted after rain to ensure soil moisture deficit can accommodate the irrigation application from each irrigation type as determined by bucket testing.

The HS2 is calibrated for Ngapara Silt Loam which is the dominant soil type on Waimarie and Brookhaven and similar irrigation characteristics to Awamoko which is also present on the flats.
Waimarie & Brookhaven Soil Map.

Five Forks is primarily Timaru Silt Loam  with some Templeton for the pivot and fixed grid, Eyrewell for the K-Lines and Taumutu for the hard hose gun.
Five Forks Soil Map

Ngapara soil has 58mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 29mm. Awamoko soil has 56mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 28mm.
Timaru soil has 55mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 27mm.
Taumutu soil has 51mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 25mm.
Eyrewell soil has 42mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 21mm.
Templeton soil has 61mm Profile Available Water to 30cm. For a pasture rooting depth of 300mm the Readily Available Water is 30mm.

Most soils are therefore have capacity to hold water in the root zone from the irrigation types. The main risk is the Five Forks hard hose gun on Taumutu soil, and the Five Forks K-Line on Eyrewell soil. These are managed carefully with the hard hose seldom used and the K-Lines moved twice a day and nozzled appropriately on a five day return.
Kline:

o Purple/purple 20mm

o Purple/orange 25mm

o Purple/green 22mm

Irrigation applications are managed only by trained staff and are recorded online.

Irrigation Water Optimisation

On farm training is recorded for each staff member on a new farm training template. Previous irrigation training has also been recorded.

A library of training resources is available. Barry and Jake have completed the NOIC managers training.

K-Lines are being phased out on the platform and on the run-offto reduce application depth and environmental risk. The majority of irrigators are now low rate but there are still some K-lines and Hard Hose irrigators on the run-off which are shifted twice a day on a five day return. These are shifted across the slope and lines are proactively turned off where there is risk of run off or ponding.

There is a K-Line map for Brookhaven which has the most K-Line, and an operations manual for K-Line as well as the installation video are used for training.

Pivot operators manual is in the door of the control panel. 

The fixed grid schedule is optimised to apply more in drier areas and less in wet areas. Fixed grid maps, designs, schedules and development information can be found online.

There are Hard Hose Gun operating procedures.

Operating Procedures

1. Check forecast.

2. Measure soil moisture for irrigation trigger. Trigger at 30% indicated on the HS2. Soil moisture should go no lower than 25% and no higher than 33%. Saturation is 46%.

3. Check soil temperature when considering irrigation in August and in May. Record temperature online if measured.

4. If above conditions allow then start irrigator.

5. Record irrigation online.

6. Check for leaks or other failures.

There are specific procedures for Waimarie and Five Forks.

Incident Report Procedure

1. Irrigation is monitored between 5am and 5pm daily. CSA's are monitored for run off in passing.

2. When a leak, run off or ponding is discovered shut water off to leaking line.

3. Notify management and source resources needed such as parts, digger etc.

4. Repair, pressure test and continue to monitor before backfilling.

5. Record in maintenance.

Maintenance

Preseason checks are carried out and checked again after first start-up for blockages and leaks.

Light maintenance is carried out by staff and recorded. A historic maintenance summary is available, and maintenance is now recorded online.

Heavier maintenance is undertaken by Waterforce.

Bucket Tests are carried out to assess performance of each irrigator.

Fixed Grid is monitored for correct performance. Spare radios and batteries are kept to swap out non-communicative or failed units.

End of season checks include draining lines, detaching K-Lines from hydrants and moving to fence lines, and parking pivots in wind safe spots. 

Soils and Nutrients

• Waimarie is managed to minimise the amount of nutrient that escapes the farm and becomes a pollutant, and to maximise the nutrient that stays within the root zone of the plants as a resource. Infiltration rate is optimised to minimise runoff.

Nitrogen

• The 190kg N limit is adhered to using heat maps on Hawkeye.

  • Brookhaven 2022-23

  • Brookhaven so far this season.

  • Waimarie 2022-23

  • Waimarie so far this season.

• N decisions guided by advice from Ravensdown and Rob Flynn at 'Soil Matters'.

• Application of N is by Bogballe spreader calibrated by Barry. Tracmap/Tabula (and screens in general) are considered unsafe on the steeper terrain so proof of placement is not available for self-spreading. However, Mainland Groundspread have proof of placement for the maintenance and capital applications.

Phosphorous

• P Fertiliser decisions are advised by Rob Flynn at 'Soil Matters'. Advises Olsen P's are locked up so no P is spread.

• If P is spread Mainland Groundspread is used. 

• Critical Source Areas are managed by only grazing when dry, using a 5m buffer if wet, and monitoring for run off.

• The aim is to maintain good soil structure by using the relevant cultivation practices for the given situation, and minimise the period of soil exposure to wind and rain erosion. This also minimises greenhouse gas emissions from exposed soil.

• P applications don't exceed 100kg P/ha and not spread in Jun or July. Waterways are avoided and run off points are monitored.

• Minimum tillage cultivation is used where soil conditions allow, and if full cultivation is necessary slopes are worked across. Steep areas are avoided where possible and weather forecasts are considered when deciding on cultivation timing. Care is taken not to work soil into fine aggregate sizes and a 5m buffer is maintained to waterways. There is minimal delay between cultivation and sowing to minimise the time that soil is exposed.

• Waterways are protected by fencing, vegetative strips.

• Laneways are maintained each year.

• Pugging prevention is achieved by giving larger breaks in wet conditions and cows are allowed to leave longer residuals. Young grass is grazed only briefly and in dry conditions only to minimise damage to the softer soil.

• An understanding of nutrient loss and also a greenhouse gas number is gained from Fonterra Environment Reports and Overseer.

• Fonterra Farm Insights Reports

  • Waimarie 2022-23

  • Brookhaven 2022-23

• Nutrient Summary

  • Brookhaven 2022-23

  • Brookhaven season to date.

  • Waimarie 2022-23

  • Waimarie season to date.

• Soil Type:
  Waimarie & Brookhaven Soil Map
  Five Forks Soil Map
  Ngapara soil
  Awamoko soil
  Timaru soil
  Taumutu soil
  Eyrewell soil
  Templeton soil
  
  

• Nutrient decisions are informed by agronomist recommendations and soil tests.

  • Waimarie Agronomy Plan

  • Brookhaven Agronomy Plan

  • Waimarie Soil Tests

  • Brookhaven Soil Tests

  • Five Forks Soil Tests

• A winter grazing plan mitigates risk while on crop.

Effluent

See Effluent Management Plan

Winter Grazing

See Winter Grazing Plan.

Waterway and CSA Management