Tinamba dairy farmer Andre Meyer with new efficient high volume irrigation sprays
Sustainable Agriculture Project Officer Brad Missen from WGCMA Billy Marshall Irrigation Extension Officer with Ag Vic and Vicki Hiscosck
IN DAIRYING The employment of spray irrigation into paddocks that had historically been difficult to apply flood irrigation to has seen significant boosts to grass growth and milk production.
“We can definitely see there is a rise in the (milk) vat and this would be a direct result from growing more grass… Also growing the grass better in some of these areas we’ve been able to get this water to also helps look after the pasture with less weeds, the pasture doesn’t thin out so when the cows go into those paddocks, they’ve got good food and that sees them producing more milk.” For Vicki, the investment on her property has seen efficiencies in flood irrigation and a ‘fast on, fast off’ approach to irrigation. “It’s so much easier to grow grass,” says Vicki. “Because I can get 12 megalitres (per day flow rate), which is a lot of water, to rush down the paddock. I’m only wetting the top two inches, where the roots of the grass are."
Andre Meyer at the control of a new hard hose irrigator
"You don’t want water sitting on top of a paddock for 12 hours (as was the case with the older flood systems), because all that is doing is seeping deeper and deeper into the ground. I don’t need it to go any deeper than two inches because that’s where I grow my grass.” Innovation and a desire to improve production and profitability combined also with a deep commitment to protecting the environment will drive farmers like Vicki and Andre forward in coming years. For both, the journey is an ongoing one with the development of emerging tools using the Internet of Things to again increase production and efficiencies already being rolled out. While the gum boots and maybe the terry towelling hat are likely to be a feature of dairy farming for ever, the baton has certainly been passed from the stereotypical environmentally indifferent and risk averse dairy farmers of the last century to a new breed, eager to embrace technology and best practice to continually move the industry forward.
The Macalister Irrigation Efficiency Incentive Scheme is funded through the Victorian Government’s Sustainable Irrigation Program.
Andre Meyer next to a recently improved re-use dam on his Tinamba property
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