The Waterwise on the Farm Program has now come to an end (September 30th 2011).

Please continue to use these webpages and resources for any information you may need relating to the program.

Waterwise on the Farm is a multi-stakeholder industry initiative developed and delivered in WA by both the Department of Agriculture and Food and Perth Region NRM.

Waterwise on the Farm is one of the projects being delivered under Perth Region NRM's Sustainable Production Program.  The project has previously been funded through the Australian Governments National Landcare Program (NLP) and is currently funded through the Australian Governments Landcare Sustainable Practices Grant component of Caring for Our Country.

The project is working with a range of horticultural industries to achieve the following objectives (taken from new project): 

• Provide Irrigation Efficiency (principles to practice) Training Courses for irrigating horticulturalists on techniques and strategies of efficient irrigation. 
• Continue the operational demonstration sites in existing horticultural sectors (vegetables, turf, avocados, strawberry, pome and stone fruit, table grape, wine grape and nursery) and implement practices used to increase irrigation efficiency at the sites.
• Increase general community and horticultural industry awareness and understanding of sustainable irrigation and nutrient management practices. 
• Develop a cross regional delivery approach with the extension of the project into the Northern Agricultural Region (Gingin groundwater area). 
 

How these objectives will be achieved:

Irrigation Efficiency Training Courses:
These irrigation workshops are designed to equip irrigators with basic skills and knowledge needed for efficient irrigation management.  The workshop will address soil resources, evaluating irrigation system efficiency and irrigation scheduling all of which, if implemented can increase the technical efficiency of irrigating horticulturalists.  The workshops will be targeted at various industry sectors (e.g. vegetable, turf) and will be tailored to suit different irrigation delivery methods (e.g. drip, overhead, centre pivot, undertree etc.).  This ensures growers receive training which is directly related to their own property and specific irrigation requirements.  It is believed that the water reform process will increase demand for these workshops in areas undergoing compulsory groundwater/surface water metering.  One on one support will also be offered to horticulturalists that are unable to attend workshops.  This will ensure that all growers have the same opportunities to access the training. 

The Irrigation Efficiency: Principles to Practice workshops address the following irrigation management principles:
  
Module 1: Assessing Soil Resources 
• Identify soil type/s on property
• Identify soil water holding capacity
• Identify effective rootzone and calculate readily available water

Module 2: Evaluating System Efficiency
• Understand factors influencing efficiency
• Measure and record system performance characteristics
• Calculate (actual) precipitation rates and application uniformity

 Module 3: Irrigation Scheduling
• Determine crop water requirements
• Understand irrigation scheduling techniques
• Develop an irrigation schedule
• Develop a water budget
• Introduction to soil moisture monitoring tools

Demonstration Sites:
The project will facilitate the exchange of information with various industry associations (vegetable, fruit, avocado, turf, table grape, wine grape, nursery, strawberry) in relation to results of water efficiency trials at demonstration sites.  The demonstration sites will support the workshops by sector specific infield examples of efficient irrigation practices (e.g. soil moisture monitoring, metering, sprinkler retrofit, irrigation scheduling, and weather stations).  Since the Waterwise on the Farm project started in 2005, technology has progressed to make soil moisture monitoring easier to use and less time consuming for growers.  Automated/telemetry based soil moisture monitoring equipment will be utilised as demonstration of water, cost and time saving.  Small mobile weather stations (MEA) will also be installed in areas not covered by existing meteorological networks.  Evaporation and weather data from the weather stations can be accessed via internet by all growers in the region.  Metering data will be used to set sustainable allocation limits on the farm and results can also be used by the Department of Water Metering project and Water Efficiency and Recycling branch for future decision making.    

Increased community/industry awareness:
Continue the series of case studies (which have been produced for the turf and avocado demonstration site) for other horticultural sectors involved and publish through industry and other publications.  The project will produce a series of 'Irrinotes' which will provide further support to growers with their irrigation management.  Field days will be conducted at the demonstration sites.  The demonstration site landholders will play a key role in presenting the findings about soil moisture monitoring, scheduling, water use and infrastructure upgrades to growers.  The project will maintain a strong partnership with organisations/projects that are involved in encouraging the uptake of sustainable irrigation practices.  These include the Vegetables WA - Good Practice Guide project, Department of Water - Gnangara Mound metering project and the Irrigation Australia - training and certification project. 

Cross regional delivery approach:
There are significant horticultural precincts located to the north of the Swan Region in the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC) (Moore Sub Region - Gingin Groundwater Area).  The NACC region has identified the Gingin Groundwater Area as a regional groundwater asset and is an important resource for food production in the region.  The Swan Region project will extend its activities to include the Gingin Groundwater Area.  The project will offer irrigation efficiency training to growers in the southern Moore Sub region and support will be given with conducting irrigation audits, developing irrigation schedules and water budgeting.  A result of these activities will be increased adoption of sustainable irrigation practices which will serve to achieve a NACC NRM Strategy target WA.R12: progressive increase in water use efficiency practices by users of allocated water by 2020.  Links will be made with the growers in the NACC Region to apply for funding for future projects through National Landcare Program - Natural Resource Innovation Grants and or Community Water Grants if opportunities arise for projects on water use efficiency.

Specialist support:
Irrigation Audits can be conducted on grower's properties for those who are unable to attend the Irrigation Efficiency workshops.  Information from the audit can be used by the grower to effectively schedule irrigations based on irrigation system performance.