Smarter Irrigation

Written By Cristy Houghton

Smarter Irrigation for Profit Phase (SIP2) – Key Learning Sites Southern (making the most from water)

Project Funder: Cotton Research & Development Corporation (CRDC)

Project Lead Organisation/Researcher: NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), Alex Schultz

Project Duration: July 2019 – May 2022

Project Locations: CWFS The Fettell Centre, Condobolin  

Aim

Smarter Irrigation for Profit Phase 1 focused on improving the water availability for participating Australian cropping and pasture irrigators by adopting precision irrigation techniques.

Smarter Irrigation for Profit Phase 2 was a partnership between the irrigation industries of sugar, cotton, grains, dairy and rice, research organisations and farmer groups and incorporated three key areas of work:

  • Developing new and innovative irrigation technologies.

  • Optimising the benefits of autonomous irrigation.

  • Closing the productivity yield gap via best practice irrigation extension

Description and background

Smarter Irrigation for Profit Phase 2 (SIP2) project was commenced in 2019 by Central West Farming Systems (CWFS) (with funding from Grains Research and Development Corporation, GRDC and the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program). This project aimed to improve the capability of growers and maximise the profit for irrigators in each of the farming systems regions with a timeframe of 3 years and included 2 phases.

A key learning site was established at the CWFS Research Innovation Hub on the Lachlan River at Condobolin to demonstrate management practices of producing the maximum dollars return per megalitre of water. The particular emphasis was on winter cereals and using soil moisture monitoring technology to determine appropriate irrigation deficits on replicated bays. This was combined with the appropriate level of other inputs such as nitrogen. The aim was to increase grower awareness and promote a shift in local practice.

Partnership

This project is a partnership between the irrigation industries of sugar, cotton (CRDC), grains (GRDC), dairy (Dairy Australia), rice, research organisations and farmer groups and Central West Farming Systems (CWFS).

Cristy Houghton

Cristy's unique career has taken her from country NSW to the city lights of Clarendon Street South Melbourne and back again. With an early career in radio as a copywriter and creative strategist, she is now a Jill of all trades as a graphic designer, website builder, blog writer, video editor, social media manager, marketing strategist and more. 

In fact, give her any task and this chick will figure out how to do it! Go on, we dare you!

No, really, we DARE you!!

Cristy has won two Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) for Best Ad and Best Sales Promotion, and even has an 'Employee of the Year' certificate with her name on it.

Cristy and her husband James have traveled extensively through Russia, China and South East Asia, and have two fur-babies, Sooty (cat) and Panda (puppy). Cristy loves drinking coffee, meeting people to drink coffee, coffee tasting and coffee flavoured cocktails. She also enjoys road trips, TED Talks and watching cat videos on youtube.

http://www.embarketing.com.au
Previous

Feathertop Rhodes Grass
Next

The Cool Soil Initiative