Irrigating Agriculture

published - 4 February 2020
By Natalie Mason
Anthony Cirillo’s Farming Story: Mallee Irrigation Efficiency Incentives Program

Table grape grower Anthony Cirillo said help to install “cutting edge technology” had resulted in bigger crops and better-quality fruit using “the same, if not less, water”.
The irrigation efficiency incentives program from the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (CMA) helped to fast track conversion of older sprinkler systems to drip irrigation.
Upgrading …
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Farm Planning, Home, Irrigation Scheduling, Irrigation Systems, Resources, Water Management

published - 20 January 2020
By Natalie Mason
Domenic Sergi’s Farming Story: Mallee Irrigation Efficiency Incentives Program

SJDC Produce director Domenic Sergi said the irrigation efficiency incentive program through the Mallee CMA allowed them to “improve our farm infrastructure”, and “help bring our systems to modern standard, to best practice”.
With financial assistance from the incentive program and training through Agriculture Victoria they were able interpret soil surveys …
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Farm Planning, Home, Irrigation Scheduling, Irrigation Systems, Resources, Water Management

published - 29 November 2019
By Natalie Mason
Nursery Irrigation Workshop in the Mallee region

During November, Agriculture Victoria hosted a free, two-day WATERWORK Nursery Irrigation Workshop at SuniTAFE Farm, which provided participants with the latest information on nursery irrigation management.
Nursery irrigation consultant, Bill Yiasoumi, shared his expertise with thirty-three attendees including students, nursery managers and employees, and farmers.
The WATERWORK workshop has been run for …
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Home, Irrigation Systems, Resources, Water Management

published - 18 October 2019
By Alexis Killoran
Whole Farm Planning and irrigation upgrades improve drought security

Kevin Ward has been dairy farming near Maffra for over 20 years. During the recent drought Kevin applied for a Whole Farm Plan through the Agriculture Victoria incentives program.
The reduced availability and rising prices of irrigation water made his existing flood irrigation system uneconomical. The irrigation Whole Farm Plan is …
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Farm Planning, Home, Irrigation Systems, Resources

published - 4 October 2019
By Tim Robinson
Irrigation Efficiency Incentives Program in the Mallee

Merbein Pistachios farm manager Chris Rayner says the technical knowledge and understanding he can now apply to their 60-hectare planting is “as good as it gets”.
The grower was supported by the Mallee CMA’s Irrigation Efficiency Incentives Program open to irrigators for work that can be shown to save water, prevent …
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Farm Planning, Home, Irrigation Systems, Resources

published - 2 August 2019
By Adrian Smith & Alex Schultz
Head loss in open channel systems

Head loss is the drop in water level as water flows through a structure or along a channel.
This video uses a scale model to visually demonstrate the effect that different sized structures, incorrectly installed structures and poorly maintained channels can have on head loss and flow rate.
Special thanks to Rice …
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Farm Planning, Home, Irrigation Systems, Resources

published - 16 April 2019
By Rabi Maskey
Should I install a pipe and riser or an open channel irrigation system?

Recently there has been increased interest in pipe and riser system with the roll out of programs like Farm Water. Upgrading farm irrigation supply channels to pipes and risers can potentially improve the efficiency of water use on farm through lower seepage and evaporation losses.
Pipes vs channels
Irrigators need to examine …
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Farm Planning, Home, Irrigation Systems, Resources

published - 20 March 2019
By Alexis Killoran
Best practice surface irrigation upgrades in the Macalister ID

Project:  Best Practice Surface Irrigation (BPSI) and Reuse System
Area:  50 ha  
Water Source:  Modernised Southern Rural Water (SRW) outlet
Flow Rates: Previous: 7 ML/ha    Upgraded: 14 ML/ha
Watering Time:  67% faster Labour:   Halved Water saved: 0.2ML/ha/irrigation (34%)
Project Cost: $207,130
BPSI Rebate:  $5,720 BPSI
Project cost per hectare:  $4,143/ha
Area …
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Farm Planning, Home, Irrigation Systems, Resources

published - 8 February 2019
By Alexis Killoran
Upgrading to spray irrigation in the Macalister ID

At a glance
Project: Flood to spray conversion
Area: 36 hectares
Soil type: Moderate permeability
Water source: River diversion and reuse system
Production: Significant increase
Stock numbers: Tripled
Project cost: $138,314
Incentives rebate: $12,472
Project cost per hectare: $3,842
Automated: Remotely operated
Manual labour: Significantly reduced
The Farm
Alex and Olivia McArthur from Waverly Pastoral operate a dairy farm in Maffra. They milk …
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Farm Planning, Home, Irrigation Systems, Resources