In 2001 a comprehensive review of centre pivot and lateral move (CPLM) irrigation systems in the Australian cotton industry was undertaken by Foley and Raine (2001). Interviews of 31 growers provided a detailed look at the design, management and performance of these systems, and where relevant, compared them to furrow irrigation. The review was specifically targeted towards cotton growers and included interviews across the entire cotton industry from Emerald in Queensland to Hillston in New South Wales. It is apparent that the number of CPLM systems used within the cotton and grains industry has significantly increased since 2001. The 2001 survey was repeated in 2011 in the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin with funding from Healthy HeadWaters Water Use Efficiency project and in 2011-12 across the rest of the cotton and grains regions with funding from the Cotton Research and Development Corporation. The two data sets were combined to provide an Australian examination of changes in design, operation and management of CPLM systems over the preceding decade. In total, this analysis covered 173 systems irrigating an area of 13,969 ha. Of this area 42% was irrigated by centre pivots and 58% by lateral moves. Lateral move machines made up a larger proportion of the systems at 34% in the 2011-12 survey compared to 24% in 2001.

Early in the Land Water & Wool (LWW) Northern Tablelands Project (NSW), local woolgrowers developed a list of ten critical issues they wanted answered, about wool production and biodiversity. These ten issues are pivotal to profitable, biodiverse wool production in southern New England. After 4 years of research, this Fact Sheet provides answers to the ten issues posed by woolgrowers.

Aimed at Woolgrowers with an interest in the forage characteristics and qualities of native grasses. Factsheet that draws on Tasmanian research on the growth characteristics and forage qualities of some common native grass species.

Program and plenary

Groundwater and surface water resources are often closely linked. This has particular implications for Australia and how we manage our water. As a result of this connectivity it is possible to allocate the same resource twice, to surface water users and to groundwater users. This double allocation of the same water has reduced the flow in our rivers and streams. There has never been a nationwide review of surface water and groundwater interaction in Australia and consequently the extent of double allocation is unknown. There is also no national approach to managing our groundwater, nor an agreed method for assessing its links to surface water. The lack of understanding of the links between groundwater and surface water has contributed to the nation's present water shortage. This has been exacerbated by dry conditions over the last decade and by rising demands for water. It is suggested that tackling the impacts of surface water and groundwater interaction requires a national approach on three fronts - technical, managerial and educational. Several approaches are proposed for assessing and managing our groundwater resources, and recommendations made for their adoption. It is also argued that remedying the over-allocation of surface water and groundwater should be borne equitably by all users, with cuts and restrictions applied generally rather than to groundwater users alone.

n its continuing investment in the vegetation arena, Land & Water Australia has published its Native Vegetation and Biodiversity R&D Program Plan for the current five year planning time frame. The 2005 - 2010

Rivers Flyer November 2006 (Knowledge Bazaar)

Flyer on Research and development in Managing climate Change

Evaporation reduction from farm dams in Australia is regarded as one of the few areas where there are real water savings to be made. At this stage, there are a number of commercial evaporation reduction systems available that use either a hard or polymer cover. Currently these systems are deemed to be viable (M. Durack pers. comm., 2004) for high value crops such as table grapes but are generally not financially viable for lower value crops such as sorghum or cotton. The Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland (NR&M) has invested $650,000 to test a number of evaporation systems. There is likely to be other private and public research occurring.