The ‘effective’ root depth of perennial ryegrass used for irrigation scheduling has substantial implications when estimating irrigation requirements. This study included field measurements of 20 percolation lysimeters with diameters and heights of 500 and 900 mm, respectively, installed on the Lincoln University Dairy Farm, Christchurch, New Zealand, to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ET a ) based on water balance analysis...

With the increasing population and accelerated urbanization, demands for water are rising for different sectors around the world, including in South Asia. Integrated water resource management (IWRM) offers a promising potential to address multifaceted water demands. This study therefore aimed to address this issue by (i) reviewing key issues related to water, land, and food in South Asian countries, (ii) exploring the prevalen...

This study examined the performance of dairy farming systems in Brazil, Ethiopia, Nepal, New Zealand and the USA, based on existing databases of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and country‐specific data sources. There are primarily three types of dairy farming, with pasture‐based open grazing being the dominant one in Brazil and New Zealand. In the USA, stall‐feeding is more popular, while mixed da...

To support irrigation efficiency improvement, it is essential to identify the major limitations to irrigation management. Thirty‐two dairy farmers in Canterbury, New Zealand, were interviewed in order to understand current irrigation strategies on pastoral farms, particularly in relation to grazing rotations and plant available water (PAW). A water balance model, IrriCalc, was used to estimate irrigation and drainage from irri...

Crop coefficient ( K c ) estimations of ryegrass pasture ( Lolium perenne ) that matches the actual plant canopy represented by height ( h ) in rotational grazing systems have been assessed. This study investigated the impacts of grazing rotations on K c , using non‐weighing percolation lysimeters. The FAO Penman–Monteith equation was used to estimate the reference evapotranspiration (ET r ) from daily weather data. A water ba...

In 2013 (September and October) Canterbury, New Zealand, observed devastating gales, with highly varied wind speeds ranging around 150–250 km h ‐1 . Over 800 centre pivot irrigators were damaged in just 2 days (10 and 11 September 2013). A second windstorm occurred on 14 October 2014, which exacerbated the situation. In 2014, Lincoln University conducted a survey of the farmers in Canterbury, New Zealand, to understand and inv...