#INZ 2018 a success!

Our 2018 Conference was a fantastic event and attracted nearly 500 people to the combined Conference and Expo.

We heard about the rich history of irrigation in Central Otago, challenges irrigators are facing, and the innovative solutions water users are developing together. Speakers included Dr Stuart Styles who compared our irrigation systems with the rest of the world and gave us an A grade, Felicity Turner who spoke on how technology can help feed the world’s growing population and Ian Taylor talked about the possibilities of using visual data on farm and to help consumers understand how their food is grown.

Presentations and photos from the Conference are available to view. To download photos use the password Irrigation2018 and the pin 9737.  Thanks to our principal partners, sponsors, presenters and farm tour hosts for helping make this event possible. 

Media coverage of our Conference

The Conference was a great opportunity to showcase new technology, show how irrigation is used for production of a range of food and wine, how it  opens up new possibilities and to demonstrate the commitment irrigators have to improving their environmental management. The Conference generated over 30 news stories!

We as farmers need to take responsibility (TVNZ)
Water the new gold in Central Otago (ODT)
Irrigation industry tries to fix bad boy image at Conference (Radio NZ)
Direct link between irrigation and polluted waterways wrong says Mayor (The Press)
Interwoven irrigation issues discussed (ODT)
Irrigators should spread good news (ODT)

Advocacy update 

We lodged a submission to the government’s tax working group last week. 

We also submitted on two regional council’s Long-Terms Plans – Waikato where changes to section 36 water charges are proposed, and Canterbury where we submitted on a range of issues.

We have been involved in preparing a report from the Land and Water Forum. The Forum was asked by the Ministers for the Environment and Agriculture to report on options to impose limits on nutrient discharge to prevent further waterway degradation. The report also covers how to allocate nutrient and sediment loads by catchment to achieve fairness between existing investment and undeveloped land, while meeting science based bottom lines.  To find out more about the report contact Andrew Curtis. 

Upcoming training 

We have a Water Meter Verification Training Day in Taupo on 15 May, and an Irrigation Operator and Manager Day in Ashburton on 6 September.

Dam Workshop 

Engineering NZ is holding a one day workshop on dam failure modes in Auckland on 8 August. We have arranged for our members to be eligible for a reduced member rate. To take advantage of this rate tick the box I am a member of NZSOLD and write INZ after your organisation name when registering.

We're working for you!

We've summarised some of the work we've done for members online. One of our key achievements in the past 12 months has been our advocacy work which was important in stopping the introduction of a water tax, saving our members an average of over $20,000 every year.

Use an accredited dairy effluent or irrigation design company

Did you know that there is an accreditation system in place for dairy effluent and irrigation system design? Using an accredited dairy farm effluent or irrigation design company gives you confidence that your system is designed to perform well over the long term and meet regulatory rules.

A list of accredited dairy effluent design providers and accredited irrigation design providers is available online. You can recognise an accredited company by the tick logo.