Stories from real people...
We have spoken to a number of people who live in the Hurunui District and who are directly affected by the Hurunui Water Project.
Scroll down for the full stories from:
Dougal Norrie - Amuri farmer (full story at page bottom)
Mark Zino - Hawarden Farmer
Tom Costello - Hawarden Farmer
Mike Hodgen - Chairman HWP and Chairman of HIPT
Andrew Mulholland - Dairy Farmer
Robert and Jean Forrester - Omihi Farmers
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Mark Zino - Hawarden Farmer
Hawarden farmer Mark Zino is the second generation of Zinos to farm in Hurunui. Mark and brother Sam farm land that has been in the family since 1966. They combined two flatland farms with a hill country property to produce an economic unit.
The Zinos run sheep, deer and cattle and grow a small number of crops. Mark loves the diversity and says the 10% of irrigated land they currently have, allows them to pick and choose their focus depending on market conditions. “Irrigation gives us the flexibility to grow guaranteed feed which enables us to contract supply our animals to weight and time specifications.”
“That 10% allows us to step outside the square where you are allowed to push things a little harder.”
The Zino’s irrigation comes from groundwater that is hydrologically linked to the Waitohi River, which is only 80 to 90% reliable. Having access to stored water would be ideal as it would give farmers like the Zinos the reliability to produce even better crops and feed.
While the public thinks dairying goes hand in hand with irrigation, Mark believes that this is only a current trend, and farmers like him will use irrigation to diversify further.
“Irrigation to me is gives more certainty around income and that’s a key point for us.”
“Sam and I don’t want all our eggs in one basket. That’s part of our business plan.”
“Irrigation doesn’t have to mean dairying at the end of the day. It (irrigation) just gives you more options.”
"The great thing about irrigation is the flexibility it gives you to change from one year to the next. This year we are putting some of the irrigation into the deer unit, into producing feed and cropping.”
“We would look at wintering cows and growing maize with more irrigation; it opens the doors to a lot of options. I’d like to see the cropping side of the farm get bigger too but we need water for that.”
The Zino brothers support the Hurunui Water Project, not just for their own needs, but for the good of Hurunui. “A lot of dryland rural communities are really struggling as droughts are common in this area. We need something to attract people to live here as the potential for social and economic development is huge.”
“I don’t want to see this opportunity go by. We won’t get another chance to get water out of the Hurunui if we don’t do it together.”
“At the end of the day, farmers can make money out of water. New Zealand is an export nation which needs its farmers to make money. If farmers are making money, then they spend it, and everyone benefits.”
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Tom Costello - Hawarden Farmer
Tom Costello runs sheep and cattle on 400 hectares in Hawarden; land that has been in his family for 90 years. The farmer of 20 years hopes irrigation will give him the opportunity to remain a stock farmer.
“Returns from sheep and beef in the past several years have been marginal, but they should improve with the increase in world demand for food.”
“We just have to have an answer for these droughts that we seem to be getting more regularly than we used to.”
While only 8% of his farm is irrigated, Tom would develop his total area to irrigation if the opportunity arose. He is concerned for the future of the district if a water storage scheme doesn’t come to fruition.
“Farming under the current conditions isn’t that profitable. We haven’t really moved forward in the past 30 or 40 years, compared to other areas.”
“But with irrigation we could be a highly productive area. We will have decent production rather than playing catch up all the time.”
“It opens up the area to much broader land use as well like viticulture on the hillsides, cropping on the flats and some dairying. There is certainly lots of uses for this area beside dairying.”
“Our soils are some of the best in the country. We could be the market garden for Christchurch I have no doubt.”
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Mike Hodgen - Chairman HWP and Chairman of HIPT
"I have been chairman of the Hurunui Irrigation and Power Trust (HIPT) since 2002. I became involved in this project because I believe a large scale irrigation scheme in the Hawarden/Waikari/Scargill area is the only way we can improve the economy of the district, and ensure a prosperous future for the local community."
"The Trustees of the HIPT have all been farming in North Canterbury for most of our lives. I think it is important to stress that we give our time and effort to this project because we think this project is in the best interest of the local community. "
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Andrew Mulholland - Dairy Farmer
Andrew Mulholland, who shifted his family to the Hurunui five years ago to take over a 184hectare dairy farm, is convinced the district needs water.
“We have dryland areas as well as irrigated. The irrgated pastures grow twice the grass in most years compared to the dryland."
“With dryland, you just have no reliability. One year might be good but the next may not be. Irrigation gives you the chance to even out the bumps.”
Having reliable water wouldn’t lead Andrew to increase his dairy herd; instead he says he’ll focus on growing his own feed which will shelter him from market fluctuations. “Ideally I’d like to be self contained and not have to buy in extra food or graze young stock off the property.”
"With the various soil tyes here I think the area is suitable, given a bit of water, for farming anything. It doesn’t have to be dairy.”
Andrew says after working in the North Island and on the West Coast, it’s clear to him that Hurunui District needs reliable water if farmers are to survive.
“We’re just a bit dry. I think if water doesn’t come then a lot of people will move away and go to other places where there is water.”
“The future of the district is reliant on water coming through, or else we will go backwards.”
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Robert and Jean Forrester - Omihi Farmers
Robert and Jean Forrester have been on their Omihi farm for 28 years.
Their dryland farm of 226 hectares should support 2200 stock units, but in recent years with low prices for wool and meat and regular drought, the Forresters have cut stock numbers. “We’re down about 200 to 300 stock units because of the dry.” Jean says this is common throughout the area. Lambs in the Omihi Valley were sold store or at lighter weights last year rather than being finished to their full potential.
Irrigation is desperately needed, she says, to keep the district’s farming alive.
“What irrigation is going to do is make farm productivity more reliable. We will be able to plan to finish stock at heavier weights and specific dates instead of being so reliant on weather conditions. We will be able to grow more supplementary feed for our farm and for sale, and will be able to look at more profitable crops. Farming hasn’t really been profitable in 30 years.”
With improved animal fertility, the Forresters often find they end up with more stock than they can feed themselves.
“We have more and more productive ewes. We can get 180% lambing if we do everything right. But if we don’t have the feed, and the reliability to sell them at heavier weights, we have to sell them at a lesser value than their potential."
Recurring drought in the past few years has led many farmers, including the Forresters, to lamb early to try and beat the dry. With this winter’s heavy rainfalls, the couple had lambs arriving in the mud “which was a nightmare”. Lambing three weeks later would give a better lambing percentage, hopefully warmer weather for lambing, and with irrigation, more feed to finish faster. Irrigated farms in Culverden produce 28000Kg DM/Ha compared to about 7000Kg DM/Ha on dryland farms in Hurunui. The extra feed means higher stocking rates, which would also help profitability.
"The whole Omihi area is good farming land and there’s interest in blackcurrents and viticulture."
Jean’s vision is for Hurunui District to have access to a reliable source of water that provides security of supply. “This is really our last hope as drought seems to be continuous.”
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January 2010- Dougal Norrie's story
- All for Water - Water for All by Garry Jackson
- Article published in the Chch Press August 2008