Enhancing Ellesmere Integrated Farm Planning Project Update

The first year of the Enhancing Ellesmere Integrated Farm Planning Project has now been completed and the ESAI team are planning out the next 12 months.
Since it started in July 2023 the project has organised 11 workshops covering a variety of aspects of farm planning and considerations including business and financial planning, farm mapping, basic first aid, winter grazing, farm finances and more. 197 people have attended the workshops and feedback has shown that farmers have found the information to be meaningful and helpful for their business.
A key take away for the ESAI team has been the positive comments and feedback on the practical aspects of the activities that have taken place, (water sampling and conducting visual soil assessments), we also had some great responses to farmers presenting at the workshops; sharing their real world, applied experiences with those in attendance. We will use this feedback in planning future workshops and activities. The intention is to include some shorter, more practical, on-farm activities and to try and involve more farmers in the knowledge sharing process.
Other focuses of the current project have included scoping out further water quality data collection, this includes ongoing in-stream sensors in Boggy Creek and Birdlings Brook which collect data on water levels and nitrate loads.
As well as continuous surface water monitoring, ESAI is also exploring the possibility of installing two further groundwater testing stations. The data collected so far is proving hugely valuable in mapping areas within the catchment with high nitrate loads and areas where nitrates are less of a problem. All this information that is being gathered will help give a better idea of how nutrients are moving through the catchment and what more can be done to try and reduce it.
ESAI is also working with Land and Water Science to facilitate LiDAR hydrology and runoff modelling of a pilot area of around 5,000ha to identify critical source areas. In addition to this, four ESAI members have agreed to participate in radiometric surveying on their farms. The radiometric sensor will be used, along with ground truthing sample areas, to produce high resolution digital soil maps which include soil texture, carbon, pH as well as other factors. It is hoped that this mapping will provide better insights into the movement of water and nutrients through the soil profile which in turn will allow farmers to optimise irrigation and nutrient application.
It is hoped that the continued water quality data collection plus this work with LiDAR and radiometric mapping will create a comprehensive understanding of just what is happening within the local catchment. Many ESAI members have water and land use consents that are due to be renewed within the next 5-8 years and this data will provide significant information that could be relevant when consulting with regional authorities and runanga on the allocation of water and nutrient management throughout the catchment.
The on-going development of relationships with local authorities, runanga, neighbouring catchment groups and irrigation schemes plus other important stakeholders has also continued to feature prominently as an important aspect of the work. This is to ensure that ESAI can continue to be a strong advocate for its members and help inform environmental solutions that also ensure productive farming can carry on in the future.