Investigating wind damage of centre pivot irrigators and farmers' reactions

Abstract

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 investigate the windstorm damage to centre pivot irrigators and farmers' responses. There was a big difference between attitudes of farmers who either could or could not protect their irrigators. The majority of the farmers had limited information about their irrigators and they underestimated the windstorm. The windstorm damage occurred overnight, making it difficult to tackle the problem. The information from this study could contribute to developing an action plan to reduce windstorm damage on farms with centre pivot irrigators.