2009 Winners

2009 Environment Canterbury Water Efficiency Award

Michael and Angela Chaffey

Maroki

Michael and Angela Chaffey need to keep a close eye on water efficiency because irrigation accounts for 25 percent of their farm costs.

Since the 505ha property became fully irrigated they have specialised in winter grazing dairy cows with up to 4000 cows at a time in mobs of about 300. Before that, the property ran sheep and deer, and had a small amount of cropping. The only livestock that belongs to the property now are 50 to 300 beef heifers, depending on the market.

The farm, near Te Pirita on the north side of the Rakaia River, has been in the Chaffey family for over 40 years and is situated in the heart of new dairy country. "We’ve done some winter grazing for 15 years, but we’ve specialised in it since 2002," Michael says. "We try to find the right balance, but it does change from year to year depending on the market."

He says they are in an ideal position to be dairy graziers as they are surrounded by dairy farmers. "All the cows are walked here, and that has benefits for animal health." The system is relatively simple, and they use contractors for spraying and some cultivation. "It is a simple system, but realistically it’s probably a two person farms. At times I’m flat out." The farm is irrigated by five rotorainer irrigators and one centre pivot, with water taken from wells up to 210 metres deep.

Electricity costs for pumping water from that depth are extremely high, so all measures are taken to make the irrigation system as efficient as possible. Soil probes are used to monitor soil moisture levels to ensure that no more water than necessary is applied. "What they’ve shown up is that I’ve probably been under watering rather than over watering because the cost of water here is horrendous."

He is enthusiastic about using the latest technology to maximise water efficiency, and has been studying overseas irrigation systems. "We’re trying to make it as efficient as it can be, but I think there are still quite big gains to be made there." As a measure of the cost of irrigation, the power bill is around $100,000 annually before any electricity is actually used. "The key for us is to keep monitoring and use the technology more than we have. There’s a lot of potential, especially under the pivot." For fertiliser they use one-third conventional fertiliser, one-third liquid fertiliser and one-third chicken litter. "This year we also did some trials with pig manure. The aim is to grow organic matter quickly."

A percentage of the farm is soil tested every year. "We’ll keep doing that because we need a picture of what is happening. Soil health is everything; it’s the key. Feed barley is grown over 10 to 20 per cent of the farm and sold to local farmers. Besides grass, other crops are kale and lucerne. Some land is leased for potatoes and onions, and one block of 160ha is leased for milking.

Michael says that with farming intensification extra effort is needed to protect the environment. "If you bugger up the environment, you’re going to bugger up yourself in the end." He believes that farming systems now are a lot better environmentally than they were in the past.

Angela does all the accounting and helps out on the farm where she can. They have two children and Michael’s parents live on the farm. Michael enjoys learning from other farmers. They host tour groups of farmers from South America, which "are always good value", and he enjoyed having the Ballance judges looking over the farm.

Judges' Points:

• A passion for water management is evident. All water use is recorded with the use of moisture probes to ensure no more water than necessary is applied. The farm's own weather station and the latest technology carefully monitors water requirements.
• Enthusiastic about the latest technology to maximize water efficiency and studies overseas irrigation systems.
• Dedicated to water use in Canterbury, Michael is a member of the Selwyn-Rakaia Cluster Group Network working with ECan on guiding strategies to manage groundwater in a fully allocated zone.

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© 2009 Environment Canterbury