ABSTRACT OF the 150 000 ha irrigated in New Zealand, half are irrigated by the border strip method. Labor and water efficiency have been improved by the use of automatic farm water control, new design practices, cor-rect management and better machine utilization. The discharge of water into the strips, which are grouped for optimum water use, has been designed for automatic control by using a pre-set drop gate system activated by mechanical, electrical, or pneumatic devices. Irrigation has changed from a downstream to an upstream method. Design effort has been directed towards a steepest grade, minimum earth-moving during grading, approach. The combination of automatic farm water control, system design and management, has resulted in a decrease in labor use from 90 min/ha to 3 min/ha and an increase in the rate of irrigation from 8 ha in a 12-h/day to 25 ha in a 24-h/day.