Dairy farmer James Clyne has a spring in his step. Modernisation is making a big difference to his quality of life. Today, he’s enjoying more time with his family and is starting to think about new goals for the future.
Mr Clyne owns and manages a 320ha high-input dairy and milks around 1,000 cows in the Macalister Irrigation District. Thanks to the modern pipeline Southern Rural Water (SRW) built in Newry, he’s one of nearly 30 farmers who benefit from improved farming efficiencies and water savings. These works were part of Phase 2 of the Macalister Irrigation District 2030 modernisation program (MID2030).
Installing the modern irrigation infrastructure that replaced the old open channels on his farm has been a massive effort, but he believes it’s worth it. Over the elevent-month project, he installed 172 automated pipe and riser outlets and merged 23 outlets into seven.
He said irrigation is now more consistent, and 90 per cent is fully automated on the farm. It’s also delivered other big benefits.
“The open channels have been decommissioned, so I don’t have to maintain and keep them clear of weeds anymore, and the reclaimed land will become grazing country when it’s recovered,” Mr Clyne said.
The time and labour saved through modernisation are game-changing, and they mean Mr Clyne can spend more time with his kids.
“In the old days, if I had to irrigate the whole farm, it took four days flat out. Now I check it twice daily to ensure everything’s running smoothly,” he said.
With the complete Southern Rural Water irrigation system, Mr Clyne can order water much more easily.
“I can order water with 24 hours’ notice, and as long as the system accepts it, I can plug it into my automated system. I literally don’t think about it again until it’s done. Holidays in the irrigation season are now possible because I can run my automated system from my phone and easily order and cancel water with less notice online.”
Mr Clyne already realises irrigation efficiencies and says the water savings will be particularly valuable in tough years.
“On the heifer and home farm blocks, usage was about 1ML/ha under the previous system. It’s now at 0.5 and 0.7ML/ha, respectively. These savings mean that with our 100 per cent high-reliability water shares, we can do at least one more irrigation of the whole farm in spring or summer,” he said.
The pipeline went through the middle of his farm, and he said the excellent working relationship between him, Southern Rural Water and the works contractor ensured a good modernisation outcome.
“The works took a significant portion of my land out of production, which was challenging,” he said.
“However, we worked as partners and negotiations to find ways to help each other were always cordial, and goodwill was shown by all parties involved.”
Productivity hasn’t increased yet, but Mr Clyne is confident it’s in the pipeline.
“Even though the works footprint was relatively small, I needed to remove whole paddocks from the rotation. Around 7km of decommissioned open irrigation channels that have been reclaimed are recovering and will be returned to grazing. When those 20ha are back online, I’m confident productivity will increase,” he said.
With the Newry pipeline complete, Mr Clyne is optimistic about the future and is starting to make plans for further investments.
“We know it’s likely to be hotter and drier in the future, but I’m confident modernisation will make us more drought resilient and able to run a sustainable farm business. I’m now focused on automating the remaining ten per cent of the farm with pipe and riser outlets, and I’m starting to think about the possibility of a robotic dairy, too,” he said.
Mr Clyne loves working in the diary sector and says that continuing to modernise irrigation infrastructure in the Macalister Irrigation District is crucial to the region’s long-term success.
“Climate variability is the greatest challenge to the long-term viability of agriculture. We need to ensure we have the equipment and systems to save more water and deliver it to food producers as reliably and efficiently as possible,” he said.
For now, Mr Clyne is looking forward to the upcoming irrigation system and running a farm that delivers results and lets him take well-earned time out to relax with his family and friends.
Southern Rural Water, the Australian Government through the National Water Grid Fund and the Victorian Government, jointly funded the modernisation.
Image: Gary/stock.adobe.com
