He moved out of Grassy Hills Station, which he and his family have farmed since they bought the property on the north bank of the Waitaki River on SH82 in 1971.
Meridian Energy bought the farm in April last year because it is at the end of its proposed north bank tunnel concept power scheme.
Mr McIlraith negotiated an agreement to occupy and graze the property for a year and hoped to renew that, even though it was not a right under the lease.
In early April, he learned the property had been leased to a neighbouring farmer, and he was told to be out on April 30.
The new power scheme is a 32km-long combined tunnel and canal with two power stations, the last with its spillway outfall on Grassy Hills.
The outfall passes through Grassy Hills homestead and its extensive gardens.
While Meridian has resource consents to take water from just above the Waitaki dam for the scheme, it has yet to gain land use consents and make a final decision to build it.
Mr McIlraith on Saturday spoke to the Otago Daily Times about the trauma of having to leave the property.
He understood there was no right of renewal of his lease, but was confident he would be able to do that.
Unaware Meridian was talking to a neighbour, Mr McIlraith was told in early April the property had been leased out and he had to leave.
Not new to the threat to the farm from power schemes, he had still hoped it would have remained in the family.
That threat dates back to 1988, when ECNZ investigated three options, including a canal-based scheme on the north bank of the river where Grassy Hills is located.
Then, in 2000, came Meridian's Project Aqua on the south side, which would have substantially reduced flows in the river.
That scheme was cancelled in 2005, replaced by the north bank scheme.
Mr McIlraith accepted he may have had to eventually sell the farm if Meridian built the north bank scheme, but said mitigation would have been "far higher" than he had received.
In the meantime, he is renting a home in Waimate and looking for another farm.
But he cannot find anything at a price that is comparable with what Meridian paid for Grassy Hills, particularly on a per hectare or stock unit basis.
Clarkesfield, another property affected by the scheme, has been sold to Meridian, but the former owners are leasing it back.
