Irrigated Cropping Forum projects

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Lifting Irrigated Cropping Profitability and Water Use Efficiency (Vic)

Commencement date: 01/07/05

Completion date: 30/06/2008

Project Summary:

The aim of the project is to demonstrate that 20 tonnes per hectare annual production is consistently achievable in an irrigated farming system.

In order to achieve this aim, a trial site in Northern Victoria will be established as part of a joint project under the Victorian Irrigated Cropping Council (VICC), Murray Research and Development Council (MRDC) and Irrigated Cropping Forum (ICF) stewardship.

Stemming from the trial work will be a best management practice guide and other opportunities for extension to encourage adoption of the double cropping farming system.

This project is a component of the irrigated farming systems project submitted by the ICF.

Project background and rationale:

The Victorian Irrigated Cropping Council and the Murray Research and Development Council, in conjunction with the Department of Primary Industries Victoria, are investigating the opportunities to improve the profitability and water use efficiency of irrigated cropping. Double cropping systems (growing a winter and summer crop following one another) provides the opportunity for farmers to capitalise on their investment in irrigated agriculture.

Research has been conducted to investigate the potential of double cropping systems, however there has been little adoption of the practice in Northern Victoria or Southern NSW. This project aims to demonstrate the various rotations to highlight the opportunities and also the barriers to making the system work. Issues such as stubble management, harvest and sowing conflicts between summer and winter crops and the best combination of winter and summer options needs to be investigated.

As well as the focus on double cropping, the project will demonstrate the best management practices for the individual crops, covering such issues as nutrient budgeting and irrigation scheduling. Best management practices have been identified for most crops, but rotation systems involving double cropping have been neglected, particularly in Victoria.

The project also has a natural resource management element. There is continuing pressure for irrigation to have a reduced impact on the environment. Making use of water "left over" from the previous crop has the potential to increase the water use efficiency and reduce the potential for accessions to the groundwater. This water also has a nutrient content that has the potential for polluting streams and groundwater. The double cropping system allows the retrieval of these nutrients and makes productive use of them.

Victorian irrigators operate under a different environment than NSW irrigators. Victoria has a greater reliability of supply, more issues with salinity and effectively only one type of irrigation layout. These factors all work together to support the idea of using irrigation water intensively and gaining the maximum water use efficiency from each megalitre.

Victoria also has a slightly shorter summer season to deal with, making the rotational timings of major operations, such as harvesting and sowing, extremely important in determining the success of a double cropping rotation.

There is an opportunity for matching funding from "White paper water reforms" for projects that increase the water use efficiency. A matching funding bid has been submitted to the Department of Sustainability and Environment in Victoria, with early indications of a favourable result.

The partnership between VICC, MRDC and DPI Victoria has a history of co-operative trial work. It already has the irrigation experience and expertise to make the project a success.

Expected Outcome:

The expected outcome is an increase in the productivity and profitability of irrigated cropping farmers in Southern NSW and Northern Victoria through the adoption of double cropping systems, demonstrated to be viable by this project.

Expected Outputs:

1. Establishment of trial site in Northern Victoria, overseen by the project leader and based on the outcomes of the survey and focus group research form the ICF areas.

2. Extension activities

3. Gross Margin analysis of the double cropping system rotations.