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Tukituki choices for
arable farmers
…Arable options for the Ruataniwha Plains
A new project funded by the Sustainable Farming Fund, FAR
and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council will provide information
to assist farmers with their irrigation investment decisions.
Hawke’s Bay is drought-prone and climate change scenarios
suggest that it is likely to become more so in the future.
Farmers without irrigation have adapted to this environment
and manage their farms conservatively to reduce potential for
losses in drought years. Those with irrigation have diversified
their systems to capitalise on a secure water supply. However,
studies of the surface water systems of the Tukituki catchment
in Central Hawke’s Bay have shown that water extraction for
irrigation is now exceeding levels that are environmentally
sustainable. This means in the future the water supply for
irrigators will be less secure and consents and controls more
stringent. Water will be the limiting resource for new farming
opportunities.
replicated trial data, but to provide an opportunity for the
Hawke’s Bay farming community to view and discuss the upand
down-sides associated with intensive cropping systems.
It will use ProductionWise ® and OVERSEER ® to benchmark
the economic and environmental performance from a range
of Central Hawke’s Bay arable farms. Four case studies will
be prepared for reference to provide information on integrated
arable and pastoral systems, for both sheep and beef finishing
and dairy support.
A range of crop sequences for intensive arable/vegetable and
arable/sheep and beef finishing systems will be established
at a new demonstration site. This will enable farmers to view
cropping opportunities and to discuss management practices
to reduce any environmental impacts presented by individual
crops or components of the rotation.
One potential solution under consideration is the Ruataniwha
Water Storage Project which will increase irrigable land on the
plains from 6,000 to 25,000 ha. This will significantly change
the opportunities for farming in Hawke’s Bay and intensification
is the likely outcome, with both opportunity and challenge for
the region.
Arable farmers are well placed to benefit from irrigation and
they will have a number of options to consider. The Hawke’s
Bay Regional Council’s feasibility studies for the water storage
project have shown that irrigated broad acre cropping for
arable and vegetable rotations, and intensive sheep and beef
finishing, are potentially profitable options for farmers. But with
a wide choice, it is important that arable farmers can compare
the profitability and environmental sustainability of these
systems to be able to make informed investment decisions
about irrigation. It is important to take the feasibility studies
into the paddock so that farmers can consider their options in
a real-world setting.
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The Tukituki choices for arable farmers project will be
managed by Diana Mathers and focus on collecting
background information about the economic and
environmental performance of existing and future irrigated and
dryland systems. The intention of this work is not to generate
!