Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:22

More than 800 damaged irrigators

Written by 

IRRIGATIONNZ SAYS initial reports suggest more than 800 irrigators across Canterbury are severely damaged and will need to be repaired or written off following Tuesday's big wind.

"The extent of damage to centre pivots and other irrigators across the region is unprecedented," says IrrigationNZ CEO Andrew Curtis.

"This is an extremely serious situation as we simply don't have enough parts to repair all of these machines in New Zealand. We're looking at a six to eight week time lag before parts arrive and then a similar timeframe before repairs can be completed.
"If we experience a dry spring, the consequences could be dire for many Canterbury farmers as irrigation will effectively be stymied,"

Gavin Briggs, owner of Rainer Irrigation, says his company alone is aware of 260 centre pivot spans lying on the ground and another 30 pivots across the region that have lost key components. He describes the situation as "a logistical nightmare".

"It's actually quite serious even though we're still a couple of weeks away from the irrigation season starting. Many farmers don't have back-up systems for effluent and were relying on centre pivots to do the job. It's a disaster."

Rainer Irrigation has ordered a large quantity of parts from overseas suppliers but it could be 60 to 90 days before they arrive. The company usually employed 30 staff at this time of the year for irrigation repairs, but would double that in the coming months. Seven cranes were working this week to lift damaged equipment.

Briggs believed irrigation systems close to rivers suffered the most damage as the wind funnelled through river beds "getting a fair bit of speed up". While insurance claims would take a while to resolve, his company and others in the industry would move as quickly as possible to repair irrigation infrastructure "because it's our client's livelihood and there's a fair bit of unhappiness out there."

More like this

Feed help supplements Canterbury farmers meet protein goals

Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.

Rare species discovered at stream restoration site

Rare Canterbury mudfish and tadpole shrimp have been discovered at an environmental restoration site at Bennetts Stream in North Canterbury which is part of a biodiversity initiative being carried out by Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).

New board resurrects show

The new chair of the Canterbury A&P Association (CAPA) board, Sir David Carter, is pleading for public support for this year's Christchurch Show.

Collars, BCS help reduce empty rates

The Lincoln University Demonstration Dairy Farm (LUDF) is crediting a raft of improved management practises in achieving a big turnaround in empty rates.

Featured

Farmers urged not to be complacent about TB

New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.

Editorial: Making wool great again

OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.

National

Machinery & Products

Farmer-led group buys Novag

While the name and technology remain unchanged and new machines will continue to carry the Novag name, all the assets,…

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Make it 1000%!

OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…

Own goal

OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter