Six of the best - irrigators to showcase their expertise

11 October 2005

DAFF05/7D

Six of Australia’s leading irrigators will showcase their expertise and experience at a special session of the Australian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ANCID) Conference in Mildura on 24 October.

The Innovation in Irrigation Showcase, which will be funded under the Australian Government’s $3 billion Natural Heritage Trust, will provide an opportunity for ANCID delegates to hear from people who have tested the bounds of traditional irrigation.

The irrigators represent a range of industries, from cotton to broadacre cropping, and also include two outstanding examples of best practice in urban irrigation. 

They have been selected because of their willingness to embrace change and new technology, or because of their innovative use of existing technology, with the ultimate goal of increasing water use efficiency. 

The six irrigators featuring at the showcase are:

  • Dean Morris and Wayne Protheroe, Leeton, southern NSW, who have installed a new high-tech irrigation and nutrient system across their citrus orchards
  • Chris and Sue Allan, Mundubbera, Queensland, who achieve high productivity for their mangoes, table grapes and avocadoes despite an irregular water supply.
  • Harvey Gaynor, Moree, NSW, whose lateral-move irrigation systems are significantly reducing the water needed to irrigate his cotton.
  • Ron Bramley, Boort, Victoria, whose sub-surface drip irrigation has helped set yield records for his broadacre maize crop.
  • Ross Pillar, Townsville City Council, which is keeping the city green and saving water by using sophisticated soil monitoring and climate control systems.
  • Stewart Mcleod, Dubbo City Council, who is overseeing a project that is achieving 100 per cent re-use of the city’s effluent.

The ANCID Conference is open to everyone with an interest in the irrigation industry, whether they be from urban or rural areas, scientists or farmers, policy-makers or community leaders, as well as new and established irrigators,.

The comprehensive, two-day program covers issues such as water sharing, water pricing and maintaining salinity at acceptable levels. 

More than 20 speakers, including from organisations such as CSIRO, the Cooperative Research Centre for Irrigation Futures and the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, will address the Conference.”