Topoclimate boss to spread word in Oz

Posted Friday, 7 December 2001

Topoclimate project manager Gary Hutchinson is about to leave Southland, Kirsty MacNicol talks to him about the project and its future.

The mapping arm of the three-year soil and climate mapping programme wound up in October but Mr Hutchinson said the methods used would be of value for years to come.

He predicted the next phase of demand would come from organisations such as Environment Southland looking for rational ways to encourage dairy farms to move to areas that could sustain year-round intensive farming without the risk of soil structure collapse.

It would also help water resource studies in terms of identifying the water holding capabilities of soils, where the water is and what could be done with it, he said.

In 1997, Mr Hutchinson was an agricultural scientist working for AgResearch when he was approached by Crops for Southland about the feasibility of undertaking land management studies on a regional basis.

His initial response was that it would cost about $6 million and take 10 years. Crops for Southland came back and said it was serious but it wanted it done in three years.

The mapping finished in October this year, on time, and with a total cost of about $4.2 million.

The hardest part had been raising the funds. Those involved had to first raise awareness of the project and its benefits to the community.

"I suspect that a lot of Southlanders don't actually realise the awe and admiration that most other regions of New Zealand, and certainly all of the regions of Australia I've been working with...have for a region that's got its act together like this." The can-do attitude of Southlanders was reflected in the fact the province was so far ahead of the rest of New Zealand in economic development.

"It's a real compliment, particularly to councils...that had the vision and weren't put off by the dollar figures." They were prepared to look beyond council boundaries to work together without the usual politics, he said.

Councils in most other regions were parochial and defensive of their boundaries.

Topoclimate could take some credit for the south's economic boom that was rooted in the land resource. Southland now knew more about its land, how to promote it and how to better use it.

During the three-year survey more than 26 billion temperature recordings were made and 47,000 auger holes made. There were few mapping projects in the world that had achieved that intensity, Mr Hutchinson said.

Topoclimate staff, most of whom were in their first job after university, had worked hard to keep the project to deadline and were enthusiastic about its results.

When the project began it had been 20 years since anyone was employed to do soil mapping in New Zealand. No new soil maps of any significance had been produced in the previous 10 years.

A new soil and climate mapping system had never been field tested because no region had the resources to go out and prove it worked, he said.

Even today there are only about 13 people in New Zealand who could go out and do climate and soil mapping of this nature.

"Until the end of October, 10 of them were employed here in Southland." Since the project ended, the employees had been snapped up elsewhere as other regions recognised the need to know more about their land resources as a basis for sustainable economic growth, Mr Hutchinson said.

Now the mapping has finished, a group called the Topoclimate Information Committee has been set up under the umbrella of Crops for Southland.

Its role will be to help landowners interpret their maps and identify best horticultural uses. The commercial arm of Topoclimate – Topoclimate Services – has been sold to Mr Hutchinson and other shareholders in Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Hutchinson takes the title managing director and moves to Australia next week. Deputy project manager Bill Risk becomes the New Zealand manager. The company will pay royalty to the Topoclimate South Trust for the use of the brand.

Mr Hutchinson, who will be based at Coffs Harbour, on the coast between Sydney and Brisbane, already has registered interest from six areas in Australia all of which are individually larger than Southland. They have a range of land-use problems from water availability to identifying certain microclimates and soil types, to working out marketing mechanisms for produce.

Mr Hutchinson will prepare feasibility studies and business plans then tailor a programme and in some cases will act as project manager. In New Zealand, Mr Risk will act as a consultant helping the information committee with advice on interpretation and individual farmers wanting more in-depth studies of their properties.

As he prepared to move on, Mr Hutchinson praised the Topoclimate trustees for their enthusiasm and hands-on support that had driven the project to a successful end.

"These guys were roll-your-sleeves-up people," he said. Thanks to their efforts the name Topoclimate had become synonymous throughout New Zealand with high-quality mapping systems.