Farming systems and production management

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Research outcomes: Growers and harvesters benefit from the ongoing research in productivity improvement, production management and agronomical techniques. Developed technologies and management practices that enhance productivity and demonstrate a high rate of return on investment.

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Increased profitability and water use efficiency through best use of limited water under supplementary irrigation : SRDC Final report CSE001
(SRDC, 2005) Inman-Bamber, NG
The objectives of this project towards increased profitability and water use efficiency was to:
Irrigation risk management strategies to reduce water use and maximize profitability; a paradigm shift in performance to $ per unit of water : Final report CTA038
(SRDC, 2003) Inman-Bamber, NG
The Australian sugar industry is predisposed to maximize the benefits of irrigation because of its geographic and climatic location. However mistakes of older irrigation schemes elsewhere in Australia, need to be avoided. Performance criteria such as $ produced per unit of water used 'which have the long term aim of very closely matching plant water use with water applied, will be the single most important factor ensuring longevity of irrigation areas' (Meyer, 1997). Matching plant water use and irrigation, requires knowledge of climatic demand for water, soil water supply, and crop response to water deficits.
Implementation of irrigation practices for profitable resource efficient sugarcane production in the Ord : Final report CSE007
(SRDC, 2006) Inman-Bamber, NG
Sugarcane is currently the major crop in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) in terms of area, occupying approximately 4000 hectares or a third of the irrigable area. It is also possible that further expansion could occur soon within the Ord Stage 2 area. The new industry is continuing to develop guidelines for and to initiate implementation of best management practice, to ensure the development of a profitable and sustainable industry. This project contributed to the provision of an extension service which is critical in assisting the industry in this development. Irrigation water application in excess of 30 ML ha-1 yr-1 was common commercial practice when sugarcane production commenced in 1995. High irrigation application not only impacted on profitability but also contributed to rising water tables and land degradation. Consequently this project aimed to build capacity in the community to save water and labour and to reduce rising water tables.
Water table monitoring in the Ord River Valley : SRDC Final report WAA001
(SRDC, 2020) Nulsen, RA; Sherrard, JH
Monitoring of groundwater levels has been undertaken in the Ord River Irrigation Area using a network of bores established on farms throughout the Stage I area. These bores, many of which were installed as part of this project, complement a network previously established off farm. They have been monitored on a regular basis and changes in levels have been examined in relation to a range of factors including irrigation and crop management practices, rainfall and irrigation infrastructure management, to allow causal relationships to be established and hence potential management strategies to be developed. Monitoring has been assisted through the equipping of many bores with water depth probes and loggers to automatically record changes in levels over extended periods of time.
Evaluating alternative irrigation for a greener future
(2011) Hesp, C
The potential agronomic and environmental benefits of green cane harvesting and trash blanketing, the ongoing issues of nutrients and pesticides threatening the Great Barrier Reef, the rising ground water levels in the area, and water use efficiency issues, prompted the progressive MAFIA grower group to conceptualise a project to trial alternative irrigation systems and compare them with the conventional furrow irrigation system. A lateral move irrigation system was established on the Hesp property, in the Mulgrave farming area in the Burdekin, to irrigate sugarcane throughout a full 4 year crop cycle. This system was compared to conventional furrow and, on a nearby property, a drip irrigation system. The sites were extensively instrumented to measure parameters that would enable the water and nutrient balance to be monitored on the furrow and lateral move irrigated fields. Importantly, an intensive economic analysis was conducted to provide a guide to the economic evaluation of the three systems. Overall the results of the trial indicated that it was indeed possible to grow large sugarcane crops under the lateral move and drip irrigation systems, and that these crops could be subsequently harvested green. It was shown that the lateral move and drip systems also provided opportunity for improved water use efficiency over the furrow irrigation system and that the subsequent flow on benefits from this was reduced loss of nutrients via deep drainage and irrigation runoff. The economic evaluation, using actual inputs costs from the trial sites, show that the furrow and lateral move had similar operating costs which were significantly less than the drip system. However, it should be pointed out that this economic study looked at the adoption of a new irrigation system versus an existing furrow irrigation system. If the analysis was to examine a greenfield investment comparison, then the economic results could significantly change because of the extra capital investment required to establish a furrow irrigation system. In this analysis, environmental benefits resulting from improved water, nutrient and pesticide use are not accounted for in dollar terms, but if included would recognise the value of more efficient farming systems. While every effort was made to provide reliable information from this study, constraints associated with conducting the trial, within an existing “whole of farm” operation, meant that it should be considered more as a pilot study rather than a rigorous scientific trial. For this reason care should be taken in extrapolating the data from this study to other properties or areas where different circumstances and constraints could alter the perspective significantly.
National Program for Sustainable Irrigation
(2010)
The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation was a unique collaboration as it involved governments, irrigators, water providers and researchers from across Australia. It covered every aspect of irrigation from dam management and water delivery, through on-farm management, to sustainable landscape environmental measures. The program has contributed to; • major increases in the efficiency and productivity of irrigation water, • significant reductions in salinity to the Murray Darling Rivers, • greater knowledge and technical capacity of irrigators and irrigation professionals. NPSI partners invested $5.2 million between 2006 - 2012, which led to an additional $6.5 million of co-investments in projects. Benefit cost ratios from investments in irrigation research consistently have been high, between 7 and 14 to one. Equally important have been environmental benefits and human capacity building. In total, 42% of funds were invested in projects that have increased knowledge, 37% that increased efficiency and 21% of invested funds have delivered a demonstrable industry economic impact. Tangible benefits to irrigators have resulted due to improved knowledge of water use efficiency benchmarks and tools, the ability to quantify water losses and better management strategies being put into practice. NPSI has been active in building improved skills, knowledge and decision making of end users via workshops, training events and publications. NPSI played a collaborative role in feeding information from research through to extension networks and sales/technical representatives, then on to the farm. The flagship publication “Irrigation Essentials” provides a snapshot of the latest NPSI research and development that is improving technology, enabling the sharing of knowledge and practice change across all agricultural commodities and horticultural industries. It provides case studies that demonstrate how research and good ideas may be adopted and provides sources of additional information on key topics. Sixty individual case studies have been published. The economic pay off from NPSI II was estimated to deliver at least $13.7m (present value terms) to the Australian economy. Against a total NPSI II investment of $9.1m (present value terms) this represents a positive pay off on funds invested. The net present value was estimated at $4.6m which represents a return of $1.50 on every dollar invested in NPSI II. If benefits are only compared against the cost of projects that have delivered an economic benefit (21% of total costs) the return would be $7.20 for every dollar invested across those projects. The program commissioned an external evaluation of its operations in 2011
An assessment of surge-irrigation in the Burdekin : Final report CSR35
(1992) Matthieson, L
Furrow irrigation is the natural choice for sugarcane. It is relatively cheap to operate and generally not capital intensive, However in operation furrow irrigation has distinct limitations. It is generally inefficient in its use of water with 50% utilisation being a typical figure (Stewart 1988). With pumping costs being greater than $2 per tonne cane and QWRC water charges be i ng $32 per mega 1 i tre for farms on channe 1 supp 1 y, there is a need to increase efficiency in order to save moneY,conserve water resources and guard against rising water-tables and salinity. With furrow irrigation the furrow is both the source and the sink of irrigation water. The advance of the water down a dry furrow is typically much slower than the recession of water in a wet furrow except for short or flat furrows which are blocked. Inevitably the upper reaches of the furrow receive more water than lower down . To ensure adequate watering of the lower reaches irrigation water is often allowed to run off to waste for some considerable time. Surge irrigation is the application of irrigation water in pulses rater than continuously . If the off-phase is sufficiently long for the surface soil to dewater, it has been found (see Walker and Skogerboe, 1987) that when irrigation water is reapplied it rapidly advances over the previously wetted section such that less water is required to complete the advance phase of the irrigation. A more rapid advance gives a more uniform distribution of water. Because the irrigation on-time is only a portion of clock time (typically half) it allows better control of run off because irrigators have more time to interact with it.
Best practice irrigation management to maximise profitability and ensure sustainability in the Ord sugar industry : SRDC Final report CSR22
(2003) Wood, AW; Engelke, JM; Sherrard, JH; Plunkett, GM; Triglone, T; Bakker, DM; Horan, HL; Muchow, RC; Inman-Bamber, G
The Ord Sugar industry was established in 1995 with the commissioning of a sugar mill and the first full season of commercial production was in 1996. It is now a major industry in Stage 1 of the Ord Irrigation Area, currently occupying over 4000 hectares and producing around 60,000 tonnes of raw sugar annually for export. The climatic conditions in the Ord impose a high water requirement for sugarcane crops. Growers face a considerable challenge in meeting that requirement whilst maximising their profitability and minimising drainage losses and potential impacts on the environment. Groundwater levels have risen substantially in the 30 years since the start of irrigation in the Ord. Consequently the development of appropriate irrigation practices for sugarcane is a key requirement in the management of rising water tables and in the sustainability of Ord sugarcane production. The first step in developing best practice irrigation management was to gain a better understanding of the range of irrigation practices being used by the industry at the beginning of the project. A survey conducted to benchmark irrigation practices used on the 1995/96 sugarcane crop indicated very high rates of annual water application, making the development of irrigation practices that maximise profitability and minimise groundwater accessions a key priority for the Ord sugar industry.
An initial evaluation of surge irrigation as a management tool for the Burdekin sugar industry : Final report 89/7
(1991) Ham, GJ
Conventional furrow and surge irrigation were compared during the growth of second and third ratoon sugarcane crops on a duplex soil in the Lower Burdekin district. Data collection was severely hampered during this investigation by the prevailing weather. Crop yields produced by both irrigation systems were almost identical. Surge irrigation reduced pumping times by 15.7-23.5% compared with conventional irrigation, thus reducing irrigation costs directly by these percentages. Further savings would result from lower maintenance on pumping equipment. Soil moisture distribution along the furrow and 'out times' for irrigation sets were more uniform for surge irrigation than conventional irrigation.
Statewide adoption of best irrigation practices for supplementary and full irrigation districts : SRDC Final report BS183S
(2000) Robertson, LN; Giblin-Davis, RM; Oehlschlager, AC; Gries, R
Project BS183S has researched and identified a number of means by which on-farm water use efficiency may be improved. These include the use of irrigation scheduling devices, improved furrow irrigation design and management, and use of modelling tools by local extension staff.Field trials demonstrated that deep drainage losses associated with furrow irrigation can be reduced by the use of surge irrigation and improved furrow irrigation management. Use of the furrow irrigation simulation model SIRMOD has enabled advisory staff to measure and optimise furrow irrigation events under typical sugar growing conditions. Difficulties however remain with deep drainage losses from furrow irrigation under trash blankets. Capacitance soil moisture meters and tensiometers were demonstrated to be effective tools for scheduling sugarcane irrigation. These devices enable growers to time irrigations to minimise crop water stress. APSFront~Sugar was developed in conjunction with APRSU to enable local advisory staff to investigate a range of issues related to sugarcane production. Despite difficulties with high rainfall, field trials demonstrated that in the absence of watertables APSIM produced reasonable predictions of crop yield. APSIM was employed to determine effective rainfall, crop response to irrigation, water use efficiency and irrigation requirement for the Mackay, Bundaberg, Mareeba, Proserpine, Atherton, Childers, and Sarina districts. APSIM was also able to identify a number of improved strategies for the use of limited allocation in supplementary irrigation districts. Project BS183S provided considerable training and support to research and extension staff.

Farming systems and production management

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