The Agriculture Victoria Irrigation team in Maffra, with assistance from the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (WGCMA), developed and delivered an irrigation basics workshop to 19 dairy staff. The workshop was hosted at the Macalister Demonstration Farm (MDF) in March 2023, allowing a hands-on learning experience for the staff. A [...]
MID ETo Update 11th August to 17th August 2022 ____________________________________________ Flood irrigation interval for the last week was 27 days Spray irrigation amount was 9 mm of irrigation water for the last week The predicted weekly pasture water use: MID 15 mm, Bairnsdale is 14 mm, Orbost 13 mm and Yarram 14 mm [...]
Given the dry irrigation season, many Macalister Irrigation District irrigators have queried why there has been no seasonal district-wide adjustment to Annual Use Limit (AUL). Annual use limits set a total amount of water that can be applied per hectare and ensure that farm irrigation practices limit the off-farm impacts [...]
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 [...]
Recently, some changes have occurred to the eligibility criteria for Irrigation Incentives in the Macalister Irrigation Area. BPSI (Best Practice Surface Irrigation) is now available ($400/ha) for anyone that is able to irrigate with a stable and consistent flow rate. This now allows river and groundwater diverters to be eligible [...]
Wednesday 24 October 2018 10.45 am – 1pm Waverly Pastoral - Alex and Olivia McArthur 292 Bundalaguah Rd, Maffra Alex and Olivia McArthur of Waverly Pastoral are a part of a growing dairy enterprise undergoing extensive capital growth. The McArthurs have a strong focus on improving efficiencies and production, whilst [...]
A soil pit was recently dug at the Macalister Demonstration Farm (MDF) to better understand the Readily Available Water (RAW) content of the farm. RAW is the approximate amount of water measured in millimetres, held in the soil that is easily available to plants. This water can be used by [...]
WUE field day flyer_final_ Wednesday 17 October 2018 10.45am – 1.30pm Zane & Burnie Carnachan – Wai Nui Farms 616 Sale-Toongabbie Rd, Denison Zane and Bernie have been working towards upgrading their on-farm irrigation infrastructure since moving on to the farm. They’ve installed a reuse system servicing 130ha and converted [...]
Due to the dry conditions experienced in the Macalister Irrigation District (MID), irrigation has started earlier, and perhaps may finish later than normal, so it is important to ensure your system is operating as efficiently as possible. This will maximise the amount of grass or pasture you can grow and [...]
