Get irrigation orders in case there is increased autumn demand, says GMW

GMW water delivery services manager Warren Blyth said irrigation delivery networks commonly peaked in autumn.

With recent dry weather, and relatively full storages, the next few weeks were likely to be a time of particularly high demand, he said.

"In times of high demand, our water planners strategically time water deliveries to ensure channels do not exceed capacity," Mr Blyth said.

"If customers place their orders well in advance, it means our planners have greater scope to optimise the capacity of the channel system and ensure everyone receives their orders at the requested delivery time and flow rate.

"It can also create opportunities for us to undertake maintenance works on channels including treating aquatic weeds that could otherwise affect flow rates."

It comes as a recent Melbourne agribusiness function was told governments needed to focus on modelling and managing the Murray Darling Basin's water during drought.

Cohuna, Vic, dairy farmer Jodie Hay said she'd be irrigating annual rye and clover pastures and lucerne and had just finished the last watering of maize.

"It will mainly be for grazing for our milking herd," she said.

They run about 430 cows, with autumn calving about to start.

"We bought water early in the season and will probably just fill up our low reliability water shares and carry over that."

The water price had dipped as low as $25 a megalitres -"and there are more sellers than buyers".

Some farmers would hold off irrigating, until the recent warmer weather passed, she said.

"Once those overnight temperatures drop, that's when your winter annuals go in," Ms Hay said.

"Our irrigation system has changed wildly, it would be much harder to plan, from GMW's point of view, not knowing what's in mind for the volume of land that can be irrigated.

"When it was perennial pastures, they would have been watered all summer, and GMW would pretty much know what water would be required.

"Now it depends on what people do, whether they plant annual ryegrasses and clover that come in early or whether you leave it for wheat and barley crops, which might be later on."

Water is a key input cost for northern dairy farmers.

Katunga's Bridget Goulding, who is milking 140 cows at the moment, said there was a general rule of thumb in the north for starting autumn irrigation.

"We'll probably be starting within the next weeks - they always used to say you didn't start before St Patrick's Day (March 17)," Ms Goulding said.

'We've got full dams, so there will be water around.

"While the water is there, use it wisely."

At the end of last season, water dropped to $5/ML - "but I can't see a whole lot more land being watered, compared to other years," she said.

"It might not entice people to water - with the weather forecasting like it is, you just don't know," she said.

"If we are heading into another potential wet winter, that could scare off a few people from actually being too happy to water extensively."

This could especially apply to croppers, who might hold off and see what happened, she said.

"If I was a cropper I would be very wary of the weather situation."

Water orders can be placed up to 10 days in advance through WaterLINE, by heading to the GMW website: www.gmwater.com.au/waterline

For more information, customers can contact their planners, phone GMW's Customer Experience Team on 1800 013 357, or email reception@gmwater.com.au