A decision support tool has been developed to demystify the art of computer simulation. Howleaky? represents a revision of water balance and crop models with the aim of providing insight into the impact of different land uses and management on water balance, soil erosion and water quality. Howleaky?’s distinctiveness lies in its user interface which provide accessible and highly visual representation of inputs and outputs. Howleaky? represents the latest instalment in daily time step models that are physically based. Similar models have been in use for at least 25 years, but mainly used by a few computer literate “gurus”. The capacity to simulate transport of agricultural chemicals in surface runoff has also been included in the model (Rattray et al., these proceedings). Model verification has shown that similar fits to observed data can be achieved using Howleaky? as have been achieved using similar models that have more detailed crop models and capacity to modify management. Key questions explored by Howleaky? include; how much water is lost as runoff and drainage, what erosion rates are expected from different tillage practices, what are the probabilities of losing pesticides applied, and what are the interactions between crop type, climate and tillage management.
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