IAL Conference, Adelaide June 2012

1. IAL Conference, Adelaide June 2012

2. Background • The concept • The team • The trials • Achievements • Future

3. Low water availability • Growers looking a ways to increase production with less water • 90% irrigation techniques were flood/siphon • No valley specific research or examples of others technologies

4. Sort funding from National Water Commission • Timeframe 2008-2012 • Approximately $500,000 of funding • To improve the irrigation efficiency in the Gwydir and nationally within the Australian Cotton Industry • Grower-led approach

5. GVIA Committee • Gwydir Valley Irrigators • Other growers • National Water Commission • The Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association – staff and executive (past/present) • Trial hosts – Sundown Pastoral Co and Australian Food and Fibre Limited • NSW DPI – Janelle Montgomery • Guy Roth • CSIRO • CSD • Yara Nipro • Netafim • Aquatech • DPI • NSWIC

6. Championed irrigators showing irrigators • Grass-roots ideas with robust application • Focus on practical information • Direct industry linkages • Flexibility to allow the project to evolve overtime

8. Focus on improving efficiency of furrow irrigation • Pipe through bank trial at Telleraga, Moree • Limited water and row-configuration trial at Redbank, Moree • One-on-one consultations to reducing losses from on-farm storages • Highly collaborative

9. Established and operated four system comparison trial • On-farm at Keytah, Moree • Commercial scale

11. Holistic water accounting • Benchmarking • Management streamlined and consistent • Variables minimised – soils, climate, chemicals and fertilizer

13. Established process, tested the concept • Challenges • Operational and management • Soil type variation • Crop establishment • Water monitoring technology • Scale

14. Replication of the Keytah Trial • Accepted inherent design challenges • New aim to optimise each system individually and tailor management • Remained focussed on holistic water assessment • Included demonstration of water-balance technology as water accounting ‘back-up’

15. Seasonal challenges with extensive flooding and reduced temperatures during growing periods • Interim results assumptions: • Using field techniques to estimate yield • C-probe data used to determine effective rainfall • Residual soil moisture

17. All yields (where crops were not lost) were high – reflective of the season • Performance of the Bankless assisted by luck • Lateral move showed continued high performance • Furrow system appears to be most consistent

18. Challenges • Germination issues • Equipment failure • Management issues with new technologies were mostly avoided • Difficult season for water accounting

20. Demonstration of a grower-led approach • Relevant • Practical • Adaptive project management • Real opportunities to improve existing technologies • Locally specific information for decision making

21. Communication • Broad-ranging education and extension activities • Hands-on extension opportunities • Multi-media reporting

22. National Water Commission – highly supportive and flexible • Farm hosts considerable in-kind contribution and outside the scope of original project • External contributors and advice

23. Recognition of the investment in establishing the trial • Growers locally want more seasons of data • Sundown Pastoral Co ad Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association maintained committed • Currently, Cotton Research and Development Corporation have provide preliminary advice for funding in 2013/2014 season

24. Final reports for 2009-10 and 2010-2011 trials • Final Report for 2011-2012 season available September 2012 • Brochures – due to be updated with new results • Specific Drip brochure • Specific Bankless Channel brochure • Specific Lateral brochure • Specific Furrow/Siphon brochure • Overall Brochure with final results • DVD • www.gvia.org.au