Agriculture
16 September, 2024
Water wait puts stress on crops
FARMERS are waiting up to a week to receive their water orders, less than a month into the new irrigation season. Dingee’s Adrian Hocking said the extended wait was putting crops at risk on warm and windy days. “Normally the wait after placing...
FARMERS are waiting up to a week to receive their water orders, less than a month into the new irrigation season.
Dingee’s Adrian Hocking said the extended wait was putting crops at risk on warm and windy days.
“Normally the wait after placing an order is two days,” he said.
“We just want the normal standard of flow in Goulburn Murray Water delivering out orders.
“We could potentially lose two to three bags of yield unless the water comes when we need it. And it’s needed when the temperature hits 20 degrees.”
GMW manager water resources Mark Bailey said: “The lack of rainfall in recent months along with strong water availability has led to an exceptionally high amount of water orders being placed at the start of the 2024-2025 irrigation season.
“At this stage of the season, we have received approximately the same amount of water orders as the same stage in the previous four irrigation seasons combined,” he said.
“With this being the case, it is not physically possible to deliver all orders within our usual timeframe due to channel capacity, however, we have so far avoided rationing and provided orders in full.
“We are working closely with customers and appreciate their patience and co-operation during this time. We encourage customers to place their orders early to help with planning.”