GWYDIR VALLEY IRRIGATORS ASSOCIATION

News

The forums are being held in regional towns and are designed to bring together great ideas and success stories.
Moree is on Thursday 5th July at 5:30pm at the Moree Services Club The focus is on community members and aims to promote regional towns as great places to live and build a career.
Discussions will include: Setting realistic short and medium term ambitions around jobs growth, population growth and services. Engaging and support both young and older members of the community, Securing investments, and Encouraging and supporting local entrepreneurs.
visit https://www.theland.com.au/news/next-crop/

The Department of Industry - Water announced starting allocations for the 2018-19 water year on 1 July 2018.  Essential supplies for town water, stock and domestic and high security users all received 100% allocations for all plans.  Groundwater, alluvial and unregulated users also received 100% allocation with alluvial and unregulated access limited by flow availability.  General security users did not receive an allocation as there were no additional resources available for sharing in Copeton Dam, an updated assessment is due next month.  Supplementary users received a 125% allocation, with access dependant on flows and flow sharing rules.  Click to view the full statement.

Join the ag revolution

Never has there been a more exciting time to be working in Australian agriculture. Innovation in drones, robotics and mechatronics are just a few of the developments currently changing the face of farming in Australia today.
We initated a new campaign to form a collective community of people that are proud to be a part of Australian agriculture visit our webpage or Facebook page to keep up to date with whats happening in ag, future opportunities and events and #jointheagrevolution

The CCA will be hosting their Cropping Solutions Seminar on Thursday, 21 June, 2018 and Friday, 22 June, 2018 1:00 PM at The Crossing Theatre
117 Tibbereena St, Narrabri, New South Wales 2390, Australia.
 

NSW DPI Nitrogen Trials
CottonInfo invites you to hear the latest results from the trials at “Norwood”, Moree and ACRI, Narrabri over the 17/18 season.
Have your say on future N research in the Gwydir. 

1pm Tuesday 12th June 2018, Gwydir Valley Irrigators Assoc. Board Room, 100 Balo St Moree
RSVP Janelle Montgomery, M. 0428 640 990

The Department of Industry - Water released the May resource assessment for the Gwydir Valley with no allocation provided to general security licenses.  There is a small shortfall of 3.15GL for delivery loss that must be secured prior to any further allocations being made.  See the NSW Water Availability Hub.

Minister for Regional Water, Niall Blair presented on 6 June 2018 his proposed Water Management Amendment Bill (2018) signalling the NSW Government's approach to key water reforms as consulted on in March and April.  This bill highlighted key positions of which the Government must now prepare the details in regulations to allow for their implementation.

The GVIA supports the better management of environmental water provided that all water rights are equally respected.  Environmental water holders own 28.5% of High Security entitlements, 29% of General Security including the ECA and 13% of Supplementary.  We need to better share the outcomes being achieved on environmental water and ensure these outcomes are not undermined by ignoring non-flow complementary measures. Non-flow complementary measures include things such as fish passages at weirs or riparian management. 

The Keytah Irrigation System Comparison trial has just been completed for the fifth season. Yield performance this year has been really strong with the highest yield for each of the systems. The yield estimates based on module weights indicate that the Bankless Channel has produced the highest yield this year.

The GVIA are disappointed with recent media reports and commentary around the management of floodplain flows and have provided the following statement and facts about the program, which was designed to incorporate this legitimate historical access into the current regulatory framework as required by legislation.    We want people to know that this is not new water and that implementing this program will have many benefits.  Most importantly it will protect the environment and users from further growth, providing certainty to all communities who rely on it. Restricting future growth will maintain and improve floodplain flows and build on Basin Plan outcomes, not detract from them.

Water for irrigation is limited and the volume has been decreasing over-time due to government reforms.  WaterNSW information indicates 66% of all river flows are reserved for the environment and another 5% is actively managed by environmental water holders who have approximately 29% of regulated general security river entitlement and another 28.5% of high security entitlement has been either purchased or diverted from irrigators in the Gwydir Valley for the environment.  A further 13% of supplementary entitlement has been purchased, this is on top of the 50% share already received during each unregulated event. Unregulated events occur when there are inflows into the river below the dam. 

On 17th May 2018 the SA Murray Darling Basin Royal Commission held a public hearing in Moree which was attended by community members. It provided an opportunity to discuss community impacts of buybacks, the adoption of the highest standard of measurement by Gwydir irrigators and the limited connectivity of the Gwydir, which means there is minimal ability to provide contributions downstream. The GVIA will be preparing a submission to the commission. The commission also meet with other organisations such as MPSC.

Gwydir Valley Area Wide Management Group

The Gwydir Valley Area Wide Management Groups will meet next week to wrap up the cotton season. Everyone is welcome to attend these meetings.
The Telleraga meeting is earlier at 3pm and the Ashley/Midkin meeting has been moved to the Ashley Hall.

  • Gwydir West AWM - 3pm Wednesday 23rd May at Telleraga Woolshed
  • Gwydir North East AWM - 7:30am, Thursday 24th May at Ashley Hall

With up to a third of NSW experiencing drought conditions the NSW Government have released an information sheet with details of loan options and organisations who can offer assistance if required.

The GVIA has been busy addressing government inquiries and investigations into water management and use including our submission to the NSW Water Reform Action Plan, the Productivity Commission's 5-year review into the Basin Plan and the Lower House Standing Committee inquiry into the management and use of environmental water.  Not to mention that a few inquiries have wrapped up with recommendations to government now lodged and responses due in coming months.

The CEWH and OEH northern connectivity event has moved through the Gwydir system and flow has now passed into the Barwon Darling with a peak of 1,200ML/day at Collarenebri.  A variety of monitoring tools have been used to observe flows and undertake an assessment of effectiveness including river gauging and satellite imagery.  More information is available to members...

The South Australian Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan is holding public consultation on their investigation at the Max Centre on Thursday 17 May 2018 between 10:30am - 12pm.  This is an opportunity for the community and not only irrigators to demonstrate to the Royal Commission how the Basin Plan has impacted our community and how environmental outcomes have been achieved but that we can always improve but that doesn't mean just adding more water.  You will need to register via their website https://www.mdbrc.sa.gov.au/.

Gwydir regulated water availability remains unchanges following April's resource assessment.  Use of environmental water for the northern connectivity event and minor orders for irrigation have occured reducing water available to irrigators to 42GL and 154GL to environmental water users (plus any high security water).  There is a minor shortfall in delivery loss account which will need to be balanced prior to any water being available for sharing.  

The NW LLS are hosting a Native Vegetation information session at the Moree RSL on Monday 30th April 2018 between 9am and 5pm. The day will provide producers an opportunity to talk through the new regulations with your local land services representives. For more information or to reserve a time that suits you please contact: Sally Poole Local Land Services Moree 0409 707 623

The GVIA wishes to inform all members that the NSW and Commonwealth Governments are trialling a coordinated, multi-catchment environmental flow event for downstream outcomes using held environmental water from Copeton Dam.
This delivery event will start on 17 April 2018 for up to 15-days with flows to be delivered to the Barwon at least to Wilcannia, via...

Deliveries of NSW and Commonwealth environmental water have begun from Copeton Dam in the Gwydir Valley, as part of a coordinated effort to deliver held environmental water from northern catchments.  Deliveries are anticipated to also be released from the Border Rivers and Namoi storages with up to 31 gigalitres being planned for delivery.

The GVIA and CottonInfo Field Day in February 2018 provided Growers a great opportunity to hear from irrigation and Nitrogen researchers about optimised irrigation and automation of irrigation. See our updated project page with our new video releases on why this research and field days are important to the industry.

In a rare opportunity, Moree Real Estate will auction a total of 1596ML Water Access Licence shares of Lower Gwydir Groundwater, in 15 x 100ML parcels plus one 96ML parcel from 11am, Friday 18th May 2018 at the Royal Hotel, Moree.  For more information visit their website or contact Paul Kelly.

NSW Department of Industry — Lands & Water announced new key appointments to the team, including Rachel Connell the Executive Director - Water and Liz Moore as Executive Director - Strategy and Policy.  More information on the appointment can be accessed from their media release.

A Department organisation chart is available on our website plus key contacts for programs like the Healthy Floodplains Project or Water Sharing Planning.  We will place up key contacts for other organisations like the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) when it begins operation and transformation of compliance services from WaterNSW.

Thank you to all our members who were able to attend the consultation session in Moree earlier this month.  We've heard that the Moree consultation was one of the best attended and with the most engaged discussions from around the state.
A reminder that submissions are due to the NSW Government's Water Reform Action Plan consultation papers on Sunday, 15th April 2018 via the online portal.  We are now in the final stages of integrating the feedback received and incorporating contributions from our peak bodies, industry colleagues and local technicians in preparing our final response.  We encourage you to review our recommendations and principle positions on the NSW Water Reform Action Plan page on our website and provide feedback directly to Zara at the office or use this information to build your own submission.  As many voices with a common thread will be a powerful message to government.

Gwydir regulated allocations remain unchanged following this month's resource assessment with Copeton Dam holding steady at 29%.  This will see irrigators carrying over 45GL and the environmental water users 134GL for late season delivery or for use into next water year.  WaterNSW provide weekly water availability reports here.

Local Land Services NSW are seeking feedback on regional pest plans currently on exhibition until 20 April 2018.  These plans aim to identify the risks in each region, set regional pest animal management priorities, and provide for the coordinated management of pest animal risks within and across Local Land Services regions.  Pests identified include, wild dogs, feral pigs, foxes and goats and high priority areas highlighted.  The LLS are seeking comment on how to improve strategic management to reduce the impact of these species locally.

Water is precious, that’s why irrigators make every drop count and irrigators in our valley, have strived to produce more cotton socks and jocks than we did 10-years ago, grow the best nuts, produce fine olive oils and make the tastiest fresh orange juice, with less water! 

In celebration on #WorldWaterDay lets think about how important it is that we use water efficiently for the benefit of our nation and our local community and thank those that turn this scarce resource into food and clothes for everyone to share.

Local community consultation opportunity into the NSW Governments approach to water reform in NSW on Tuesday, 27th March in Moree from 2pm at the Max Centre.

“The discussion papers and consultation, are the start of a wider conversation with government and the community...

The NSW Minister for Regional Water has announced the NSW Water Reform Action Plan.  This plan includes a series of strategies to reform key policy areas in the management and administration of water, of which all are relevant to water users in the Gwydir Valley.  This page provides you as a member, access to our current analysis and strategy to address these reforms.

With the end of the summer irrigation season drawing to a near, water availability in the Gwydir has been revised in the February resource assessment with irrigators likely to carryover 46,000ML into next season whereas, environmental water managers holding the majority of water with 164,000ML.  We have updated our current availability to reflect usage to-date, this is reported on an annual basis covering the water year.

The GVIA and CottonInfo Field Day in February 2018 provided Growers a great opportunity to hear from irrigation and Nitrogen researchers about optimised irrigation and automation of irrigation. See the latest Video release.

The GVIA are requesting all members to assist us to better understand the valley's water measurement status.  To do this, we're asking if you can please complete this short survey: CLICK HERE

There are 4 - 6 questions and you only need to know your water licence volumes, types and numbers of meters, or your alternative water monitoring mechanisms.
The information will be anonymous and aggregated, to help guide future policy dicussions and our industry messaging.

Click the link above to start the survey and thank you for your participation!

We have a 36.9 ML parcel of General Security River water allocation for trade.  Please provide a bid in dollar/megaltire and the volume required to the GVIA office before 5pm, Tuesday 20th February 2018.
This trade has a minimum value attached to it.

The annual GVIA Irrigation Field Day continues to draw big crowds. The 2018 event was run in conjunction with the CottonInfo Optimising Irrigation and Nitrogen tour. It was wonderful to see so many young growers and consultants, and to have 24 irrigators from southern regions at the field day.

On Wednesday, 14th February 2018 the Federal Senate rejected an amendment to the Murray Darling Basin Plan which will see the northern recovery target return to 390 gigalitres, rather than the revised 320 gigalitres.

We’re looking to the Commonwealth and NSW Government to negotiate a speedy resolution that puts people, communities and the environment back as the priority.

We have a 24 ML parcel of Lower Gwydir groundwater allocation for trade.  Please provide a bid in dollar/megaltire and the volume required to the GVIA office before 5pm, Tuesday 20th February 2018.

Local Gwydir Valley Agronomist Kate Lumber has been selected as one of two showgirl finalists at the zone four final on the weekend. Kate will represent Moree at The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl competition next month. For more information see the Moree Champion article following.

The Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association (GVIA) together with Stahmann Farms hosted the new Federal Agriculture Minister, David Littleproud on Monday, 29 January 2018 at “Trawalla” east of Moree.  The visit was organised by local Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton and the opportunity was used to showcase the innovative work of our local agricultural industries.

We have 330ML of Gwydir general security allocation for tender until 5pm Sunday, 21st January 2018.  You can enter a bid in price per megaltire before the closing date and time, for more details on process and requirements, click the link.

A reminder we have a number of tenders for Gwydir general security and Lower Gwydir groundwater allocation currently open.

The GVIA have two new water tenders open; 19ML of Lower Gwydir Groundwater allocation and 200MLof Regulated general security allocation with bids due 5pm Friday, 19th January 2018.

We have a total of four tenders currently open and are updating our water market information daily.

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder is due to make a formal announcement on the environmental water tender results.  We understand there are 2 successful applicants, which have been contacted.  We continue to be in discussion with them regarding future options and feedback but to our knowledge there are no plans for further tenders at this stage.

We have two parcels of Lower Gwydir groundwater allocation for sale on separate accounts:

  • 20 megalitres
  • 31 megalitres
Please contact the office via email with your requested volume and price per megalitre by 5pm, 18 th January 2018.

The buyer will be required to cover the WaterNSW fees of $326.49 and the GVIA $55 water trade transaction fee.

CottonInfo will be hosting a weather webinar on Wednesday 10th January at 12.30pm.

There will be detailed discussion around the La Nina we are having, when we are not having a La Nina and also, what is the Madden-Julian Oscillation system and its impact on the second half of January.

You will need to register via the CottonInfo website.

The recording will be posted onto the website afterwards.

Our tender of 300ML (in two 150ML parcels) closed at 5pm, Tuesday 9th January with a winning bid of $388.20/ML.  We've elected to provide this figure as it is unlikely to be available on the register prior to the closure of the CEWH tender.

Reminder, that the CEWH tender opened at 10am, Tuesday 9th January and you can lodge electronic bids up to 2pm on Thursday, 11th January.  You need to visit the CEWH water trade website to access the documentation.

We also have a 20ML parcel of Lower Gwydir groundwater allocation for trade, all bids need to be received before 5pm on Thursday, 11th January.

We have 20 megalitres (ML) of Lower Gwydir groundwater allocation is for sale by tender.

Please provide your bid in price/ML by 5pm Thursday, 11th January 2018 to gvia@gvia.org.au.

We have two parcels of 150ML each of Gwydir General Security allocation for tender.

Please contact via email, the volume and price per megatire offered by Tuesday 9th January 2017 at 5pm.

Optimising Irrigation and Nitrogen is the theme of the 2018 Gwydir Valley field day to be held at Keytah. This season the Keytah system comparison site has been upgraded to included automation of siphons, bankless channel, lateral move and drip. The aim is to identify options which are suitable for growers looking to automate irrigation on a large scale.

Growers Inspect Cover Cropping Trial

The Dryland Cotton Research Association Field Day provided growers the opportunity to inspect the cover cropping trial which has been running since early 2015.

There has been a strong turnout to the Gwydir Valley CGA Silverleaf Whitefly workshops this week. The workshops were made possible through a CRDC Grassroots Grant. Thank You to our presenters Dave Parlato, Iain MacPherson, Arthur Spellson and Brad Anderson.

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