Creative water saving
The top five ways farmers are making their operations water efficient
IN CELEBRATION of World Water Day last week, Rural Weekly looked at innovative ways farmers conserve water.
With water being scarce in many parts of eastern Australia, it’s become essential for primary producers to find ways to use as little as possible.
1. DRIP IRRIGATION
Drip irrigation can save 80 per cent more water than traditional irrigation systems.
Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the plant’s roots.
Timers can also be used to plan irrigation for cooler parts of the day to reduce any further water loss.
The Meron family use drip irrigation on their olive plantation, Macintyre Brook Grove, in Inglewood, Queensland.
Boaz Meron said his family also ran an irrigation business which helped them with the installation.
“We brought over our knowledge of drip irrigation and that’s where we’ve had a lot of savings in overhead costs and water,” he said.
2. RE-USING AND RECYCLING WATER
Depending on their operation, there are a number of smart ways farmers are recycling their water.
Grace Ruberto and Danny Monteleone grow leafy green vegetables and herbs in a state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse at Hanwood near Griffith in New South Wales.
A big plus for Grace and Danny is the enterprise’s minimal water use. Their supply comes from the farm bore and is delivered to the plants by 13 pumps.
“We only use 20–30 megalitres a year. All the water is re-used. There is no evaporation; there is no water lost. All water is contained on site,” Danny said.
A hot spot for recycling water, Mat Ryan and his wife Bonnie are producing the iconic murray cod at Bilbul, near Griffith.
As well as growing out the cod, Mat normally grows summer crops of sunflowers, sorghum and hay.
He is looking to move away from cropping and bring in livestock to benefit from the irrigated pastures, which, with the water circulated through the fish ponds, is packed with nutrients.
“It takes less water to grow a kilo of fish than it does to grow a kilo of beef,” Mat said.
“By this I am factoring in the need to irrigate pastures.”
This does not apply in Mat’s case as his dual-purpose water has already been through the fish ponds and is recycled on to the land at no extra cost or drawing any extra water.
3. ZERO TILL
Stubble cover and reduced tillage improve water storage in the ground, and improved water capture in soils leads to improved crop yields, especially in drier years according to the Grains Research and Development Fund.
Sorghum and pulse crop are better able to use extra water stored in stubble and reduced/zero till systems.
4. CAPTURING AND STORING WATER
Most farmers will have a bore to access ground water, or build a dam (or several) to capture rainfall and store water for use during dry times.
Sugarcane farmer, Tony Jeppesen, created artificial wetlands in order to catch irrigation run-off.
Mr Jeppesen GPS laser levelled his entire property to control the water flow.
Then he set up about seven artificial wetlands from half a megalitre through to 150ML, as well as numerous sediment traps.
“Irrigation is important, but equally as important is getting water off the crop in the wet season,” he said.
“The wetlands capture water for use in the dry season, but they’re multi-purpose, capturing sediment, nutrients, chemicals and run-off so these don’t leave the farm.
“We now put 95 per cent of our run-off through water traps and wetlands.”
5. IRRIGATION SCHEDULING
Irrigation scheduling involves managing when water is delivered, how often, and how much.
Farmers can achieve this by monitoring weather forecasts, soil moisture and plant moisture, and adapt their irrigation schedule accordingly.