Water and Climate Change
Climate Change
This program aims to better understand markets and industry as they relate to dairy farm businesses.
The DPI website on Climate and Agriculture is a useful resource.
Contact: Jason Leeman, DPI Echuca (03) 5482 1922
This new seasonal newsletter will deliver the latest seasonal climate risk information to dairy farmers.
Farm Water Management
Water Use in Dairies
As Victorian water supplies are becoming increasingly limited and variable, DPI has developed a special booklet designed to help farmers calculate their water use for each of the main processes undertaken in a dairy shed.
The booklet entitled Dairy Shed Water - How Much do You Use? (PDF 2.1MB) provides information from more than 1,500 farmers visited by DPI dairy extension staff over the past 10 years. A presentation called Calculating Dairy Shed Water Use provides a useful summary of how to measure water use.
Information from the booklet will help farmers to:
have a greater understanding and appreciation of the amount of water used on their farms
identify the scope of water savings and encourage greater water use efficiency in the dairy
provide a more accurate figure to a water corporation to update an existing licence or to apply for a new water licence; and/or
work out the volume of water needed for purchase if the farm is in a capped catchment
Dairy shed water use statistics refered to in the booklet come from the DPI publication Dairy Shed Water Use in Victoria 2009 Analysis previously referred to as Callinan, L. (2009). Water use in Victorian dairy sheds.
For more information about these booklets please contact the DPI Customer Service Centre on 136 186.
Licences are required for dairy shed water use
In Victoria, water for commercial use is regulated by water corporations on behalf of the Minister for Water to ensure the sustainable use of the resource.
Water corporations issue licences to ensure the amount of water taken from streams, rivers, bores, dams and channels is sustainable.
Although the legislation does not currently require water taken from these sources for ‘stock and domestic’ use to be licensed, all other agricultural uses of water in Victoria, including water for use in dairy sheds, require a licence.
This means:
all operating dairies require a licence to take and use water
the volume allocated for dairy shed use in Section 51 licences must reflect actual use; and
water used in the dairy shed will be metered in line with existing Government and water corporation policy
Program to licence water used in the dairy shed
The Department of Sustainability and Environment is running the Dairy Shed Water Licence Transition Program to make sure all water used in dairy sheds throughout Victoria is fully licensed.
The program includes an amnesty, ending on 23 April 2010. After that, it will be expected that all water used in dairy sheds is fully licensed.
By early October 2009, all dairy farmers registered with Dairy Food Safety Victoria should have received an information pack about the program, including a brochure, a licence application form and a copy of the Dairy shed water – How much do you use? booklet (DPI 2009).
Contacts
Contact your water corporation for information about licensing fees:
Goulburn–Murray Water – www.g-mwater.com.au; 1800 013 357 (toll free) or (03) 5833 5500
Grampians–Wimmera–Mallee Water – www.gwmwater.org.au 1300 659 961
Lower Murray Water – www.lmw.vic.gov.au (03) 5051 3400
Melbourne Water – www.melbournewater.com.au 131 722
Southern Rural Water – www.srw.com.au 1300 139 510
Water and Effluent: Managing Dairy Effluent
The 2009 Warrnambool Dairy Conference organised virtual tours of three dairy farms. Watch this video to see how Bruce Johnson reuses effluent water.
Bruce Johnson milks 680 cows on the converted grazing property “Patrick’s Day”, north of Hawkesdale in south west Victoria. Bruce constructed his dairy shed with the view to it being water efficient with an effluent system that was easy to manage. The end product was a system allowing for the reuse of effluent water through the flood wash for yard cleaning as well as being a source of irrigation water and nutrients for the growing of summer crops.
Video - Running time 11 minutes
Do you know how much water you use daily within your dairy operation or how to calculate your use? For some more information read:
Squeezing more water out of a farm dam. DPI Media article, 17 June 2009
Dairy water saving tips. Joel Spry, DPI Swan Hill, 2009
Cool water savings on a plate. Julie Williams, DPI Ellinbank, 2009
Water planning for a dry summer. Julie Williams, DPI Ellinbank, 2008
Ideas that hold water for your dairy business
Water use in dairy sheds
How to measure water in farm dams
How to measure water usage in the dairy
Water budgeting on farms: Gippsland Drought Response
Estimating stock water requirements for dairy cattle: SW Victoria Drought Response.
Water Efficient Farming Case Studies:
Re-use, or go dry. Andy Thomas
Dam lucky - turning a resource into an asset. Graeme Mabin
Reducing water use, step-by-step. Simon Park
New dairy = new opportunities for water savings. Bernie and Bettine Dijs
Water reticulation improvements, the key to securing water on McAninly's farm. David McAninly
Contact: Julie Williams, DPI Ellinbank (03) 5624 2222
For more information:
Southern Rural Water has Fact Sheets on licensing arrangements for farm dams and bores on their website or phone 1300 139 510.
Dairy Australia has water savings tips on their website, select Farm, then Saving Water in Dairies.
The Department of Primary Industries website has Information Notes on water conservation including
The Gippsland Nutrient Team can help with managing effluent on a dairy farm and with water management planning. Contact them at DPI Ellinbank on 03 5624 2222.
West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority Phone 03 5175 7800
CowTime information including energy and water efficient ideas for the dairy can be found on the CowTime website. Or phone 03 5624 2222.
Water - Irrigation
Our aim is to assist dairy farmer's to better understand and adjust to unbundling and to improve their capacity to make better use of their water resource.
Water Trading
Water Trading in the MID: Information Booklet. May 2010. This booklet aims to assist irrigators in the Macalister Irrigation District [MID] make better decisions about water trading in the context of unbundling water rights from land.
What is 'unbundling'?
Unbundling’ is the term relevant to the Victorian Government's White Paper: ‘Securing Our Water Future Together’. It means your current water right will be separated into three individual components:
1. A water share: a legally recognised, secure share of water available for use
2. A delivery share: an entitlement to have water delivered to a property
3. A water-use licence: an entitlement to use water for irrigation on a specific property
For more information contact:
Rob O'Connor, DPI Echuca (03)5482 1922
Securing Our Water Future
The Water White Paper - Securing Our Water Future Together – was released by the Victorian State Government in June 2004. The launch of the White Paper has given an opportunity to increase the rate of change occurring in the management on irrigated dairy farms. Understanding the White Paper can be a bit tricky the first time around. This project is helping dairy farmers and other stakeholders to better understand water reform (‘information phase’) and it assists irrigators to make the right management choices that will result in long term security for the irrigation sector (‘adjustment phase’).
Irrigation dairy farmers are the primary audience. The project has also established and maintained a well-informed service provider network to help to ensure that the whole dairy industry is better able to respond to changes in water policy.
A range of extension methods and activities are being used to cater for different learning styles. Irrigation courses, farm walks, field days, technical updates, publications and one-to-one visits have all been part of the extension program.
Water reform briefings have been conducted for irrigators and service providers purposefully in small groups of neighbours and work colleagues to encourage open and vigorous discussion. Case study farm exercises are being used in these briefings to assist participants to better understand how water reform will affect different irrigation businesses.
To help irrigators to adjust to water reform, a broad farming systems approach is being used to ensure that decisions on irrigation resource management are not made in isolation to the rest of the farm business. For example, staff have been trained in fodder selection so that they can better help farmers to fully utilise their irrigation resource.
Links have been pursued and maintained with Regional Extension Committees, DPI extension and research teams and other organisations to ensure that irrigators are hearing relevant, informed and consistent messages.
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