Water for Profit

Project details

Status: Completed

A program to help Tasmanian farmers maximise their return on investment in irrigation

Funded by the Tasmanian Government, the Water for Profit Program was designed to ensure farmers are equipped with the right skills and information to increase profits and sustainability from their investment in water. The project concluded in 2018.

Read the Water for Profit Brochure (PDF 1.1 MB)

The program consists of four projects:

• Farmer groups for peer-to-peer learning networks
• Irrigation and cropping decision support tools
• Soil management practices under irrigation
• Soil mapping information to assist with land-use planning and investment decision making

The program is working with farmers in key areas with new or existing access to irrigation.

Farmers act as co-investigators, working with and drawing on the resources of the Water for Profit program partners, consultants and industry bodies to:

• Direct research to benefit their region.
• Undertake benchmarking to identify what farming practices lead to better productivity and sustainability outcomes.
• Contribute to and guide the development of online irrigation and cropping decision support tools specific to Tasmanian conditions.
• Provide opportunities for both informal and formal information exchange between farmers.

Through the Program, farmers have access to cutting-edge research and online irrigation and cropping tools relevant to their properties through TIA, detailed land management information through Tasmanian Irrigation's Farm Water Access Plans and digital soil mapping data from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania.

Farmers and farmer groups decide how to best use this technical information through support provided by the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, industry groups and agricultural consultants.