Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Massey University are leading an innovative multi-agency initiative that will see science and technology integrated into local farming operations. The intended outcome of this proposal will be to improve productivity, water use efficiency and environmental foot-printing on farms and across whole catchments.

"We can achieve maximum economic benefits for the region with effective water use, but also avoid any undesirable environmental effects on our surface and ground water resources," said Hawke's Bay Regional Council's Chief Executive, Andrew Newman.

"The way to do that is to study the factors that affect land use and present potential solutions, such as the integration of modern farming technologies and irrigation practices."

Steve Maharey, Massey University's Vice Chancellor, said the initiative is an excellent example of bringing together expertise from several groups to improve land production systems so everyone benefits.

"New Zealand has a great deal of expertise in this sector and bringing the best minds and practitioners to the job must ensure a good outcome. Massey is pleased to be working with the Council in bringing this about in Hawke's Bay," he said. "Land owners, consumers, the environment and future generations will gain from careful management of water on farms, in orchards and vineyards."

The initiative is a complementary plan of action to support the Council's work on the Ruataniwha Water Storage Project and the result of commercial and industry relationships formed by Council's economic development unit.

Provisionally named the Hawke's Bay Strategic Farming Initiative, it would combine the expertise of groups including University researchers, Crown Research Institutes, Industry groups, fertilizer and plant nutrition companies, and the finance sector. It also has the early support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

One output from the initiative will be to develop case studies to promote the findings of the water efficiency and technology research.

Another planned activity will be the use of demonstration farms to showcase management techniques and strategies as well as showcase the use and integration of sensor technologies to assist irrigation management. Demonstration farms could also model best farming practices for dairy, sheep and beef, or cropping operations.

The project's initial focus will be on planning water demand, including evaluating individual properties for irrigation extent, the investigation of feasible irrigation methods including new technologies such as variable rate irrigation, soil mapping, sensing methods, soil monitoring, climatic variability and weather simulations. Hawke's Bay Regional Council will underwrite a PhD Scholarship for this work.