High-tech tools protect tomorrows landscapes

New Zealand farmers will be the first in the world to receive cutting-edge tools to manage farm dairy effluent.

Massey University scientist Dr Dave Horne and PhD researcher James Hanly have led the work in collaboration with research and development company Harmonic Ltd. At the heart of the project is a blend of farm-specific data and technology providing decision support tools to help farmers schedule effluent irrigation and monitor irrigator performance. The project is one of three showcased at Massey’s stand at National Fieldays this week.

Mr Hanly says the system has been designed for New Zealand, where many farmers rely on storage and small, travelling irrigators spraying onto paddocks.

“While land application of effluent is an improvement on pond-only treatment, it can still contribute to contamination of waterways, particularly for mole and pipe drained land, soils with a rising water table and sloping land,” he says. “Farmers in these situations should probably be practising deferred irrigation which involves storing effluent and irrigating it when soil moisture conditions are suitable. As a first step, we developed a calculator to identify how much storage farmers need if they are to practise deferred irrigation of effluent – which can be more than many think.”

The technology package begins at the pond where effluent level is monitored, along with weather data and soil moisture status, this information is fed into an analysis which provides daily advice on irrigation scheduling. The high-tech approach continues with monitoring of irrigator performance (speed and location) using GPS technology and an automatic pump shutoff system.

“The availability of farm-specific information is a key aspect of assisting improvements in farm dairy effluent system design and management,” Mr Hanly says. “On the basis of real-time, comprehensive data, farmers will be able to make the most informed decisions for planning and implementing sustainable effluent practices.”

The development of smart tools that provide real value to the farmer are at the heart of this research: information can be accessed with a mobile phone or a home computer. Until now the trial has run at the University’s Number 4 Dairy Farm, just outside Palmerston North, but with funding from DairyNZ On-Farm Innovation Fund, Harmonic and Massey are taking the project to eight dairy farms across the country over the next year to assess the system under a range of different farm and regional conditions.

Harmonic Ltd is commercialising the system and plan to make the package available on-farm in 2010. Current work is funded by Harmonic, Horizons Regional Council, the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and the Dairy NZ On-Farm Innovation Fund.

The Massey University stand can be found in the premier feature at PA 3/4 at Mystery Creek.