increase font size
A drone shot of land near Waikari, North Canterbury, which is targeted by the latest irrigation plan for the district. Supplied/AIC.
North Canterbury's Amuri Irrigation Company (AIC) is pressing ahead with plans for a new irrigation scheme for the Hawarden/Waikari area, following a positive response from potential users.
The company issued a product disclosure statement (PDS) last month for shares to fund a revised Hurunui Irrigation Scheme. The PDS closed on November 28 and AIC says it received sufficient interest to advance to the next stage of design and development.
The proposal is for a 2000ha to 3000ha piped irrigation scheme to supply farms near the North Canterbury towns of Hawarden and Waikari. It is a smaller alternative to a scheme proposed by AIC earlier in the year, which did not proceed due to insufficient support.
The company says the revised scheme was developed through engagement with local farmers and builds on work of the community over many years. Water will be taken from an intake on the south bank of the Hurunui River and rely on consents held by the now-defunct Hurunui Water Project, which was taken over by AIC earlier in the year.
The area has suffered significantly from the impact of drought over recent years and it is hoped the irrigation scheme will bring opportunity and certainty to those farming in the area.
“We are excited to have passed the first hurdle and are another step closer to delivering a viable scheme to the South bank of the Hurunui River,” AIV chair David Croft said.
“While there is still much work to do before we can proceed with the option, it is heartening to continue our forward motion on the project.”
The company will ensure all its farmers hold farm environment plans (FEPs) and new irrigators will need to use efficient irrigation systems and have FEPs in place prior to being delivered any water. The FEPs specify the on-farm actions to meet good management practice.
AIC is a community irrigation scheme now irrigating 28,000ha in the Amuri Basin taking water from the Hurunui and Waiau rivers.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
With a focus on producing their own on-farm dairy feed requirements, it would be safe to say that the Fleming family are no strangers to a fertiliser spreader on their North Canterbury farm, near Culverden.
As the New Zealand Government launches negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with India, one Canterbury-based vegetable seed breeder is already benefiting from exporting to the world's fifth-largest economy.
I am writing this story with the 2025 harvest in full swing.
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.
On the eve of his departure from Federated Farmers board, Richard McIntyre is thanking farmers for their support and words of encouragement during his stint as a farmer advocate.
A project reducing strains and sprains on farm has won the Innovation category in the New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards 2025.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and other sector organisations, has launched a national survey to understand better the impact of facial eczema (FE) on farmers.
One of New Zealand's latest and largest agrivoltaics farm Te Herenga o Te Rā is delivering clean renewable energy while preserving the land's agricultural value for sheep grazing under the modules.
Global food company Nestle’s chair Paul Bulcke will step down at its next annual meeting in April 2026.
Brendan Attrill of Caiseal Trust in Taranaki has been announced as the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming and Growing and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy at the National Sustainability Showcase at in Wellington this evening.
