Why Do Two-thirds Of Australian Irrigators Use
No Objective Irrigation Scheduling Methods?
Author(s)
K. D. Montagu & R. J. Stirzaker
Abstract
There is significant pressure on irrigators to improve on-farm water use. A range
of objective irrigation scheduling methods, such as soil monitoring, evaporation
and decision support tools, have been developed to address this need. We
examined how these tools have been adopted by Australian irrigators using data
from an Australian Bureau of Statistics water survey of 7,280 irrigators in 2003.
A total of 2.2 million hectare’s were irrigated in 2002−2003 with irrigated
pasture accounting for 39% of the area irrigated and 36% of the water consumed
by agriculture. Cotton, grape and fruit irrigators, who account for 27% of the
water used for irrigation, are the biggest users of objective scheduling methods.
But still only one quarter to a third of growers are using these methods. For most
irrigated crops the use of objective irrigation scheduling methods increases with
farm size. The exceptions being pasture and sugar, where the use of objective
irrigation scheduling methods remains low irrespective of the farm size. The
major users of objective irrigation scheduling tools are where enterprise
profitability is directly linked to improved crop water management, such as
cotton, grape and fruit production. Other industries, particularly pasture, will lag
in the use of these tools because the profitability of their enterprisers is not as
sensitive to water management. Until new drivers emerge then it is unlikely that
these enterprises will invest in tools to improve irrigation management. With
drought and increased competition water reducing allocations, and the increased
focus on river and ecosystem health, we may be seeing some of the new drivers
emerge.
Keywords: objective irrigation scheduling methods, Australia, survey, soil water
monitoring tools, evaporation.
Keywords
objective irrigation scheduling methods, Australia, survey, soil water
monitoring tools, evaporation.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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