Alexandra hosting IrrigationNZ's national conference

Application of water allows dairy cows to be grazed near Paerau in Central Otago. Photo / Stephen Jaquiery

Registrations are open for IrrigationNZ's national conference in Alexandra in April.

The organisation hosts a conference every two years, with local and international experts presenting their views on a range of topics.

With so much public focus on irrigation and water issues in the media, it was an important opportunity for farmers and growers, the irrigation service industry, researchers, academics, councils and other groups to come together to discuss the future of water management and irrigation systems, Irrigation NZ chief executive Andrew Curtis said.

Keynote speaker Stuart Styles, director of the Irrigation Training and Research Centre from San Luis, California, will talk about how New Zealand's irrigation practices and regulatory regime compares to the rest of the world.

Conference participants will be able to join one of three field trips to see best practice irrigation in action on a range of different properties and hear on-the-ground experiences from growers and farmers about how irrigation systems were being used to suit local conditions.

The conference will also include an expo featuring a range of different products and services designed to help improve production and irrigation efficiency.

Central Otago had been selected to host the conference as irrigation had played an important role in the district's past and it also provided an interesting example of how water rights could be negotiated in the future which the rest of New Zealand could learn much from, Mr Curtis said.