FARM DAMS - ARE THEY AN OPTION FOR THE QUEENSLAND SUGAR INDUSTRY

Sugar cane farms are the single biggest user of irrigation water in Queensland. Recent drought and unreliable rainfall patterns in areas traditionally reliant on rainfall for crop production has resulted in increasing interest in, and adoption of supplementary irrigation to help underpin production. As a result, demand for irrigation water now exceeds supply from surface and underground sources and growers who are not able to access irrigation schemes are considering other water supply alternatives. A simple spreadsheet model has been developed to accept simulated crop yield and irrigation application data from APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems Simulation Model) and evaluate investment options in on-farm water storage and reticulation. The analysis indicates that growers should consider the construction of on-farm water storages as a viable source of irrigation water.