Watertalk dec2014 web

ountry News Co Reaching Australia’s richest agricultural region

Water Talk

E 12-PAUG RE T r 2014 FEcA embe De

Faster horses on better grass — pages 2 and 3

Independent farm upgrade at Cohuna — page 11 Is irrigation modernisation bogged down? — page 9 | Tennyson farm under the spotlight — page 4

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PAGE 2—‘Water Talk’, December, 2014

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Controllers for the pipe-and-riser system at the Hains property.

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Cathy Hains: ‘‘Old-fashioned irrigation methods are hard to sustain in tough economic and environmental conditions.’’

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The property, located between Rochester and Elmore on the Campaspe River, is owned by thoroughbred horse breeder Cathy Hains who says the slogan is perhaps better described as a belief or even a conviction.

Ms Hains purchased Burnewang North in 2006 because she wanted to breed and raise the best horses in the best area. ‘‘What we pride ourselves on is that these horses have the benefit of being born and raised on the very best growing land in Victoria,’’ Ms Hains said.

The horses are grown on a nutrition program based on the property’s irrigated lucerne crops. ‘‘This provides the ideal building blocks at the most crucial stages of their development,’’ she said.

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Travelling spray irrigators at Burnewang North.

➤ Continued on page 3.

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Stables house the property’s valuable broodmares.

‘Water Talk’, December, 2014—PAGE 3

water talk

Cathy Hains, Mark Halden from Goulburn-Murray Water and Brendan Foott inspect the results of the irrigation upgrade.

horse property ➤ From page 2.

It’s why when the decision was made to dry off the Campaspe Irrigation District in 2011 through the Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project, Ms Hains knew she had to find an alternative. ‘‘We looked at many alternatives, including irrigation syndicates, but we were a little too far away from the Goulburn System so in the end we decided to investigate pumping from the Campaspe River,’’ Ms Hains said.

However, the challenges weren’t just access to water for irrigation. New, more efficient, methods of irrigating pastures were also needed.

Goulburn-Murray Water modernisation co-ordinator Mark Halden was given the task of working with the team at Burnewang North to ensure they could be reconnected.

Together they worked through the onfarm works required to decommission open channels and to develop solutions to allow for water diversion from Campaspe Weir. ‘‘The move meant the property was moving from an open channel irrigation supply to a river diverter where the connection was an electric-powered pump site with three pumps,’’ Mr Halden said. ‘‘Two irrigation pumps were installed — one delivering a 10 Ml/day low pressure flow rate and another a 1.5 Ml/day high pressure flow rate. A third stock and domestic supply pump was also installed.’’

The new delivery system now supplies water in two demand phases to suit the new irrigation methods.

The high pressure pump supplies the transportable sprinkler system and the low pressure pump pushes water to the pipeand-riser irrigation system and can be used to fill a new 33 Ml recycle dam enlarged as part of the farm’s modernisation plans. ‘‘The hard hose sprinkler system means we can irrigate more land than before,’’ Ms Hains said. ‘‘And, while it is labour-intensive, because the sprinklers need to be moved all the time, we’re growing a very valuable product here. The hard hoses enable us to keep green ‘pick’ for grazing and also minimise dust in very dry conditions. ‘‘We run a select band of 50 privately owned broodmares that have been carefully collected over the past six or seven years.’’

With Burnewang North progeny only just reaching racing age the team is witnessing

‘

This system has allowed us to put water on areas we never thought we could.

Farm manager Brendan Foott

’

promising results on the racetrack with metropolitan-class winners and stakes performers in Australia and overseas.

Foals in this year’s stables are even sired by So You Think — the Bart Cummings and Aiden O’Brien-trained stallion with earnings in excess of $10 million as well as Melbourne Cup Winner Americain and Black Caviar’s brother, All Too Hard.

Ms Hains firmly believes the future belongs to people who ‘‘think of ways to move with it’’. ‘‘Old-fashioned irrigation methods are hard to sustain in tough economic and environmental conditions,’’ she said.

One 32 ha section of the farm’s commercial cropping enterprise irrigated by the pipe-and-risers used to take 10 days to irrigate; today the same area can be irrigated in three days. ‘‘These changes came at significant cost and the government’s subsidy via on-farm water efficiency grants were instrumental in helping us update systems,’’ Ms Hains said.

On another section of land, 10 Ml of water would need to flow through the open channel to retain 4 Ml to irrigate with. Now if 4 Ml is pumped through the pipe-andriser system there is 4 Ml available for irrigation.

Ms Hains said they could now irrigate about 300 ha more of pasture that was previously dry land. ‘‘We continue to channel any available funds into these improvements across the farm,’’ she said. ‘‘As custodians of this extremely productive property we hope to send it into the future with the best production capabilities we can provide — and water is liquid gold.’’

Farm manager Brendan Foott said the new irrigation system was ‘‘just so easy’’. ‘‘This system has allowed us to put water on areas we never thought we could before,’’ Mr Foott said. ‘‘Poly pipes and risers cut down a lot of night work and this frees up labour for other things.’’

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PAGE 4—‘Water Talk’, December, 2014

water talk Mechanised Irrigation Solutions

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on the shore of Lake Eildon has been awarded to Jacobs Engineering Group.

Goulburn-Murray Water’s dams manager Martina Cusack said the project would involve a new sewage pump-out barge for houseboats at Jerusalem Creek and a pump station and pipeline connecting Jerusalem Creek to Goulburn Valley Water’s Eildon Wastewater

Management Facility. ‘‘The new barge will be able to service four houseboats at once and, unlike the old barge, will remain operational even if capacity drops as low as 10 per cent,’’ Ms Cusack said.

Installation of the Jerusalem Creek pump station and pipeline means the barge will no longer have to cross the lake to dispose of effluent at Point Worner, removing the risks associated with transporting large volumes of raw sewage across the lake.

‘‘The project will also see the Jerusalem Creek Marina & Holiday Park and the boat ramp public toilet block connected, via the new pipeline, to the Eildon Wastewater Management Facility,’’ Ms Cusack said.

The sewerage upgrade was identified as priority action in the Lake Eildon Land and On-Water Management Plan. ➤ The management plan is available to download from www.g-mwater.com.au

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Corey Mitchell (right) will host a farm walk at his Tennyson dairy farm on December 14 to showcase the works he has completed through round two funding of the Farm Water Program. He is pictured with Adrian Orloff from Observant and Tim Douglas from AWMA. Picture: Sophie Bruns

Upgrade was worth the effort

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t has been two years since Corey Mitchell Iupgraded the irrigation infrastructure through round two funding of the Farm Water Program, and the Tennyson dairy farmer couldn’t be happier.

The works included laying 18 km of pipe and have enabled Mr Mitchell to increase milking numbers to 600 while helping him reach his ultimate goal of selfsufficiency for fodder. ‘‘My system has been in for two years and straight up I believe we have saved around 10-15 per cent on our annual water use. ‘‘At first I thought it was a bit silly going from a gravity fed system to a pumped one, but once you put one in, you would never go back,’’ Mr Mitchell said. ‘‘Our power consumption sits at around $10-12/Ml and we will start targeting off-peak usage. It is expensive but I wouldn’t say it was excessive and you have to remember, we are also saving on our annual

water use each year.’’

Mr Mitchell saw the funding as an opportunity to do some major capital works on his farm, works that he wouldn’t dream of being able to afford without the program. ‘‘We have gone from a 500-cow farm to a 600-cow farm that is now 100 per cent fully irrigable. I don’t think we want to increase numbers any more, just utilise the ground we have better and grow more feed.’’

As part of the works, six moisture meters were installed and Mr Mitchell said while they had been a real learning curve, he was glad he had put them in. ‘‘We are really starting to see the benefits of this technology and we have changed the way we irrigate to a degree. Some areas we water later and others, like the lucerne, we water earlier and the results are there to see in improved growth rates. ‘‘You are always learning and they are definitely worth a look at because the cost of water makes them worthwhile.’’

All waste water is fully recyclable and the system also enables the effluent from the dairy to be pumped onto paddocks that require additional nutrients. The system is also automated.

The farm land holding sits at about 810 ha and is used to grow corn, wheat and oats for hay, lucerne, vetch, some cereal grain and annual and permanent pastures.

Mr Mitchell is hoping to grow more cereal grain to ultimately reach his goal of total self-sufficiency for fodder. ➤ On Thursday, December 4, Mr Mitchell will host a Farm Water Program farm walk at his property at 334 Trounson Rd, Tennyson from 11 am to 1.30 pm.

RSVP to Lisa Duncan or Brendan Stary at farmwaterprogram@gbcma. vic.gov.au or phone 5822 7700.

If severe weather conditions are forecast, the event may be rescheduled; there is also another walk at Katunga in January.

‘Water Talk’, December, 2014—PAGE 5

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PAGE 6—‘Water Talk’, December, 2014

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Tocumwal is being upgraded.

Berrigan Shire Council will undertake major flood mitigation works, thanks to a generous subsidy from the NSW Government in round three of the Local Infrastructure Renewal Scheme.

The scheme encourages councils to make greater use of borrowings to accelerate investment in long overdue community projects.

Under the third round, councils are provided with a three per cent interest subsidy for up to 10 years on loans.

NSW State Member for Murray-Darling John Williams said the NSW Government was committed to Rebuilding NSW, the $20 billion infrastructure plan announced by Premier Mike Baird in June that included $6 billion for regional NSW. ‘‘In order to achieve this (plan) we need a strong local government sector with the infrastructure to match,’’ Mr Williams said. ‘‘That is why the NSW Government has committed $120 million to the LIRS scheme until 2025. ‘‘The application from

Stormwater drainage is being improved in Berrigan, Finley and Tocumwal.

Berrigan Shire Council is to spend $1.63 million to upgrade stormwater drainage infrastructure in Berrigan, Finley and Tocumwal. ‘‘I am delighted that Berrigan Shire Council was a successful applicant. The community has waited a long time to see these projects go ahead and it will address key deficiencies in the event of a flood.’’

In the first two rounds of the scheme, 137 individual projects across 87 councils had benefited, unlocking almost $680 million for shovel-ready projects.

NSW Local Government Minister Paul Toole said

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thanks to round three of the scheme, an additional $148 million in infrastructure spending would be unlocked. ‘‘The LIRS is a key part of the government’s commitment to address the crippling $7.4 billion infrastructure backlog faced by local governments (as at June 2012),’’ Mr Toole said. ‘‘The community knows that building infrastructure makes a significant difference to both our economy and to people’s lives.’’

Round three of LIRS received 69 applications, which were assessed by an independent panel.

‘Water Talk’, December, 2014—PAGE 7

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PAGE 8—‘Water Talk’, December, 2014

water talk Survey

Prices volatile

Design

recent weeks, Inannouncements

time for downstream transfers to reduce the Murrumbidgee inter-valley transfer account to the point where trade out can recommence.

Coinciding with the Murrumbidgee closure was an announcement by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority that the Barmah Choke was closed to downstream trade to protect delivery rights of downstream entitlement holders.

This came as no surprise as the MDBA had issued advice earlier in the season that the Choke may be closed if strong downstream demand continued.

Although a Choke closure may be a reason for aboveChoke prices to soften as sellers face a reduced market for their product, the reality this year has been the opposite, with the above-Choke Murray price recently peaking at more than $130/Ml as irrigators compete to source water given trade restrictions and low Murray general security allocations.

With the opportunity to buy from above the Choke limited to back-trade only, and with the Murrumbidgee

concerning the closure of trade out of the Murrumbidgee and downstream of the Barmah Choke, together with poor NSW general security allocations, has led to increased volatility in the region’s allocation prices.

This has been most noticeable in NSW Murray, Have your whole farm plans ready to meet the deadline. as buyers seek water Enquire now! security for summer irrigation programs.

The opening of trade out Onleys also specialise in: of the Murrumbidgee on October 14 saw more than > Easements > Irrigation Consulting 50 000 Ml traded out of that > Surveying > Project Management system within two weeks, as southern buyers acted to > Planning Permits > Engineering Surveys secure lower-priced Murrumbidgee water. > Subdivisions (VIC & NSW) With the Murrumbidgee inter-valley transfer account 50 Gl above the normal ‘We are your complete land development professionals’ operating limit, authorities moved quickly to restrict further outward trade.

SHEPPARTON Market participants 5 Telford Drive, Shepparton hoping to see further trade out of the Murrumbidgee Phone: (03) 5821 7171 this season may need to be Email: mail@onleys.com.au patient.

Unless there is an www.onleys.com.au increase in trade into the Murrumbidgee, it is SURVEY DESIGN IRRIGATION SURVEY DESIGN IRRIGATION SURVEY DESIGN IRRIG expected it will take some

Irrigation

On Farm Efficiency Round 4 Expected January 2015

likely to remain closed for some time, NSW Murray irrigators have turned their attention to Victoria and South Australia for competitively priced water.

Until recently, there has been little opportunity to purchase low-priced water in Victoria due to a scarcity of sellers.

This situation has recently reversed with inter-valley transfers opening access to the Greater Goulburn market creating excellent opportunities initially for low-priced water.

Provided the Goulburn remains open to outward trade, it is expected the tightening NSW and Victorian Murray market will present sellers with seasonbest prices over the next month or two.

As the season progresses there will be further changes in inter-valley restrictions as authorities manage inter-valley transfer accounts and the delivery of water.

In light of this, water customers are advised to remain alert to future announcements that could alter the market dynamic.

— Ruralco Water

Connections Project

ŽŵƉůĞƟŽŶ Ͳ tŝŶƚĞƌ tŽƌŬƐ ϮϬϭϰ

ƵƚŽŵĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ϳϴ ƐŝƚĞƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ŝŶƐƚĂůůĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ϴϲ ŐĂƚĞƐ ŝŶ ϱ ŝƌƌŝŐĂƟŽŶ ĂƌĞĂƐ

Torrumbarry Swan Hill

13km of channel ƌĞŵĞĚŝĂƟŽŶ in 4 of the 6 ŝƌƌŝŐĂƟŽŶ ĂƌĞĂƐ

17 15 3.66

Number of Gates Installed Number of Sites Automated Total kms of Remediation

Murray Valley Number of Gates Installed Number of Sites Automated Total kms of Remediation

Central Goulburn Kerang

Cohuna

Number of Gates Installed Number of Sites Automated Total kms of Remediation

26 22 .94

13 11 3.57

Cobram

Nathalia Numurkah

Echuca

Pyramid Hill

Kyabram Shepparton

Rochester Tatura

Loddon Valley 7 7

Shepparton Total kms of Remediation

Rochester Number of Gates Installed Number of Sites Automated

23 23

3.46

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ZO450621

Number of Gates Installed Number of Sites Automated

‘Water Talk’, December, 2014—PAGE 9

water talk

Project ‘bogged down’?

By Geoff Adams ne of the architects of the $2 billion Foodbowl Modernisation Plan has expressed concern about the progress of the current Connections program and urged irrigators to be proactive in getting the best outcome for their supply.

Consultant Rob Rendell played a key role in developing the foodbowl plan which became NVIRP and is now being implemented by GoulburnMurray Water.

He recently participated in a dairy forum organised by Bonlac Supply Company, where water became the main topic.

Mr Rendell said many projects started strongly, got bogged down in the middle, and then rushed home to the finish. ‘‘I think we are in the middle bit of a project where it looks like it’s dragging on and can be bogged down.’’

The program was trying to reform a system with thousands of small licence holders who could interfere with the goal of improving the system for commercial irrigation.

He warned against keeping a lot of channels and infrastructure that was originally going to be rationalised, just to avoid conflict, appease people and keep them happy. ‘‘The process could end up with a lot of infrastructure that could cost us a lot in the future.’’

O

Rob Rendell addresses a recent forum that was dominated by water issues.

Connections manager Ian Rodgers told Country News the original business case had included a provision to extend the backbone by up to 100 km.

After a review, G-MW has been given approval to extend the backbone by a further 450 km where it could be justified.

But for every extra kilometre of backbone, they had to find 50 Ml of water savings.

Where possible the extra backbone delivery was being provided through a pipeline rather than an open channel which was subject to evaporation and seepage.

Mr Rodgers said the project remained focused on saving water.

Mr Rendell noted the opportunities for farmers to increase their efficiencies

through the on-farm funding programs, but warned farmers they would have to work through a tangle of bureaucratic procedures. ‘‘Don’t sit on your bum and think it’s going to come easy.’’

The potential for dairy farmers is enormous. He quoted Paul Weller’s property as one of those where they really did some innovation.

Mr Rendell told the forum water trading was one of the opportunities presented to irrigators. But productivity would have to increase. ‘‘We only have about half the water we used to have for all sorts of reasons and as an industry we need to increase the dollars (earned) per megalitre. ‘‘From about 1962 to now we have been producing about 1 tonne per megalitre. We have not changed the dry matter production per megalitre since my grandfather was milking in the 1960s. ‘‘However, there is an enormous opportunity out there with a decent flow from the supply system, not the garbage stuff being pushed around at the moment, but with 20 Ml/day, with fast flow and automation or scheduling and switching to maize or to lucerne that actually produces a lot more and cut and carry. ‘‘There are people who are making 3 tonnes/Ml. But it means change.’’

Farmers would also have to deal with business size. ‘‘I can remember growing up when dairy farms had 100 cows and mum and dad. And then we moved to 200 cows and put someone on. Then we moved to 400 or 500 or 600 and we have a team of half a dozen people. ‘‘In that time the number of dairy farms has halved. And in the next 10 years it will halve again. Size is going to keep going. The challenge is to jump from 1000 cows to 3000 or 4000. ‘‘It’s to do with managing a business and people, not technology. Understanding those things is very important.’’

Victorian Agriculture and Water Minister Peter Walsh pointed to continuing issues over water shares and delivery shares. ‘‘Would probably get at least one inquiry a week in my local office about people who have delivery shares and have got no water and they have to pay for that,’’ Mr Walsh said. ‘‘I think when it was initially set up, it was not set up in the best way. I think we have a legacy issue there about delivery shares and water shares, and as people trade away their water over time sooner or later people will not want to pay for their delivery share they are not using.’’

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PAGE 10—‘Water Talk’, December, 2014

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Get it right, says VFF

By Geoff Adams ictoria has one chance to get it right with irrigation modernisation, VFF water policy chairman Richard Anderson has told a forum. ‘‘I think we have one opportunity to spend $2.1 billion on irrigation infrastructure. We need to get it right,’’ Mr Anderson said. ‘‘If we don’t get it right at the end of the day the contractors and others running the process will have driven off into the sunset and we are left with the legacy in years to come with infrastructure.’’

He was speaking at a forum on dairy farming organised by Bonlac Supply Company.

Mr Anderson said there was unlikely to be another opportunity for this scale of investment and the community had a responsibility to apply the money wisely. ‘‘It’s important we get it right because we will all pay for it at the end of the day.’’

And he said farmers would have to live with the outcomes for many years to come.

He raised questions over processes that had been used in the past to complete works.

He said the projects achieved the best outcomes when one body was responsible for the whole contract. ‘‘There have been too many

V

VFF water policy chairman Richard Anderson (right) with forum chairman Jack Holden from Fonterra. processes where it was designed by someone in Sydney, project planned by someone in Ballarat and then built by someone else. ‘‘We still have projects in our district that still don’t work after two years.’’

Mr Anderson also urged caution in decisions on which

channels were shut down in the quest to rationalise assets. ‘‘Our policy in the Rochester district has always been, we want as many irrigators as we possibly can have. ‘‘It’s not about getting rid of people. It’s not about cutting people off. It’s about good outcomes and good flow rates.

‘‘If you have 500 acres slap bang in the middle district and just because no-one has irrigated on it for the last four, five or six years, doesn’t mean we can’t take it into account when we’re building the infrastructure. ‘‘Because that is the future of the dairy industry. Someone else will come along and take up that land as an opportunity. ‘‘If we put the right things in place we can encourage that.’’

Goulburn-Murray Water Connections manager Ian Rodgers recently told a dairy workshop his team was working to reduce the time it took from the start of engagement with irrigators until the connection was completed.

In 2013-14, G-MW has completed the decommissioning of 155 km of channel, installed 530 new meters and found 191 Gl of water savings.

One of the most common recent complaints from irrigators is that the process is taking too long.

Mr Rodgers told Country News an examination of the process in the past has shown it has taken about 820 days to complete, from start to finish.

His goal is to reduce that to 365 days or less. ‘‘We want to see that process from engagement through to completion down to one year.’’

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‘Water Talk’, December, 2014—PAGE 11

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Ian and Amy Mathers and sons Harry (left) and Noah have upgraded the irrigation infrastructure on their Horefield dairy farm, laying 7 km of Black Brute pipe that services 195 ha.

As part of the works, the family was able to purchase an additional 20 ha property that has been incorporated into the milking platform.

Upgrade lowers risks

By Sophie Bruns inimising risk is an M important part of management for dairy farmers Ian and Amy Mathers at Horefield, near Cohuna.

The couple has just finished upgrading the irrigation infrastructure on the home farm to include 7 km of fully automated Black Brute pipe, which services about 195 ha. ‘‘My goal is to be able to utilise my pastures better and grow an extra two tonnes of feed per hectare, while reducing water usage,’’ Mr Mathers said. ‘‘We used to have old leaky channels and some high red country we couldn’t irrigate very well, now I would like to think savings of around 15 per cent are achievable.’’

Flows have gone from 4-5 Ml a day on the high ground to 18-22 Ml with just

a flick of a switch and the works have also enabled the family to sow an additional 20 ha of lucerne. ‘‘We now have much better control and management of our irrigation and installing the WISA automated system takes the worry out of irrigating,’’ Mr Mathers said. ‘‘The box on the riser speaks to the unit at home and tells me exactly where everything is. ‘‘If there is an issue the system automatically shuts down and I can check in any time using my phone.’’

They chose to fund the project themselves rather than linking in with an OnFarm Efficiency Program so didn’t have to forfeit any high-reliability water shares.

The work began in June and shortly after the rains came, dumping 152 mm for the month. ‘‘Riv Poly still managed to get 6 km of pipe in, in that

first month and even though we didn’t have a fence left on the place at the time, it has all worked out really well,’’ Mr Mathers said. ‘‘They got the job done and it’s all good now.’’

Mr Mathers has also chosen to install moisture meters to help take the guesswork out of irrigating. ‘‘We have three different soil types on the farm and I am installing a moisture meter at each different type,’’ he said. ‘‘I have spoken to other farmers who have them and they reckon on average they were all watering too soon so I am hoping these meters will help save a few megs too. ‘‘I am also interested to see what impact a rain event has and what it will do to the irrigation intervals.’’

The Mathers family has been farming at Horefield since the early 1970s when Ian’s parents Gail and

Normie bought the home farm of 64 ha with 160 Ml of water for $30 000. ‘‘That was a lot of money back then, and Mum and Dad up until 15 years ago milked around 130 cows.’’

Since then the land size has increased as has the herd, to include 220 autumn calvers and 140 spring. ‘‘We used to live from year-to-year but these days to reduce risk we like to have at least 12 months’ worth of feed in front of us,’’ Mr Mathers said.

That feed includes homegrown pit silage and hay. ‘‘We feed just straight silage, no mix. I like to keep things simple now whereas before the drought we had the mixer wagon and did the whole thing. ‘‘These days as the feed goes off over summer we feed silage in the paddock with some shade or on the feed pad and the cows will graze on lucerne at night.’’

The old channel has been filled and the additional ground has now become paddocks for the stock.

The WISA computer program that runs the automation side of the irrigation set-up.

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PAGE 12—‘Water Talk’, December, 2014

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Newell Highway, Finley NSW