| Researcher(s) | N/A |
|---|---|
| Contact email | charlie.aves@irrigatedcroppingcouncil.com.au |
| Contact phone | 0448120531 |
| Year(s) | 2022 |
| Contributor | Irrigated Cropping Council |
| Trial location(s) |
Kerang, VIC
|
To assist farmers with their decision making by showcasing successful irrigation farm systems in local case studies.
To enable farmers to learn from others by understanding their background story, current practices and short / medium / long-term decision-making processes that assist with businesses adapting to an everchanging operating environment.
To gain the maximum value for our farm businesses in the irrigation discussion group they were actively involved in the process of collecting the case study information in farm walks.
Farmers learn from other farmers. They like to see how technologies, innovation and systems changes are implemented on farm and hear from the farmers about the challenges and successes in order to help them see how they can implement the changes in their own system.
Case studies are an ideal way to showcase successful farm systems and changes to systems.
The Kerang discussion group said “There is a huge amount of knowledge in this room how do we capture it?” Members were keen to learn from other irrigators, especially those successfully managing the volatility within the industry.
Regardless of the changes being made on farm, the benefits people were seeking were common: better use of water, flexibility in the farming system and people able to work smarter, not harder.
Change on farm is constant, all farmers we spoke to were continuously adapting to the short and long term changes in their operating environment.
All farmers were considering a combination of on-farm and off farm data when making decisions on investment or changes on farm. All stressed the importance of researching to ensure that you get the right irrigation system for your farm.
To actively involve the Irrigation Discussion Group members in the collection of case studies: the group visited the case study businesses on farm to discuss how the farmers were adapting their systems to a changing environment based on the case study framework and questions. Information gathered on the farm walk was recorded and collated by ICC facilitators for the case study and then, if necessary, a follow up meeting/phone call with the case study business to fill in any gaps in the information.
Unfortunately, COVID restrictions meant that 2 out of the 3 were conducted as standard one on one case studies.
| Lead research organisation |
Irrigated Cropping Council |
|---|---|
| Host research organisation | N/A |
| Trial funding source | GRDC ICF1906-002RTX |
| Related program | N/A |
| Acknowledgments |
Jane Foster from ORM for helping us develop our standard questions to ensure a common thread throughout the case studies conducted Gavin and Melinda Mann for sharing their learnings from converting from flood irrigation to lateral move Todd Martin for sharing how he's intergrated stock and crop on his farm and the infrastructure investments made to support this Michael and Simon Hughes for inviting the group on farm and sharing how their are tackling soil constraints and selecting areas for differing irrigation strategies. |
| Other trial partners | Not specified |
| Crop type | Pasture: Mixed species |
|---|---|
| Treatment type(s) |
|
| Trial type | Article/commentary |
| Trial design | Not applicable |
| Sow date | Not specified |
|---|---|
| Harvest date | Not specified |
| Plot size | Not specified |
| Plot replication | Not specified |
SILO weather estimates sourced from https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/silo/
Jeffrey, S.J., Carter, J.O., Moodie, K.B. and Beswick, A.R. (2001). Using spatial interpolation to construct a comprehensive archive of Australian climate data , Environmental Modelling and Software, Vol 16/4, pp 309-330. DOI: 10.1016/S1364-8152(01)00008-1.
Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR)
Some crop varieties used in research trials may be covered by Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR). Users should confirm PBR status of relevant varieties by searching the IP Australia PBR database, http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/pbr_db/ or Variety Central (http://varietycentral.com.au/) and contacting variety owners for further information if required. Where possible, varieties have been listed according to their registered PBR name, although OFT cannot and does not guarantee that the information is accurate or complete.
Note that PBR cover is administered through the Plant Breeders’ Right Act 1994 (