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Darling River Food & Fibre is an association of farmers, business and local government on the Darling River. Our association is seeking to promote local job growth and community prosperity through sustainable farming and wise use of resources.

The Barwon Darling river system is an unregulated system with no head water dams to control its flows. In this sense, the Barwon-Darling system is quite different to all other major inland rivers in NSW. Modeled average outflows of the Darling River are 1.6 million megs pa ranging from 150,000 megs to 7 million megs (1 megalitre is 1 million litres).

Although river flow along the Darling is unregulated, irrigation on the Barwon and Darling rivers is highly regulated by:

   pumping height threshold
   license volume
   number and size of pumps
   crop type
   environmental flows
   a voluntary pumping roster

Producers are aware that all users of natural resources must become fully accountable for their impact on the resource. As a result water users in this river system have worked within regulation to become world leaders in irrigation efficiency and technology.

Aside from a robust cotton industry and an increasingly innovative grazing sector, the Darling River district also has a rapidly developing horticulture industry. Examples of individuals working in these innovative areas are showcased on this website.

The Western Division is economically dependent on sustainable resource use.

Our community believe that water users must strive for optimum water-use efficiency and employ practices that ensure that the water in our rivers, wetlands and aquifers is of the highest possible quality. Our farming practices constantly keep abreast of developments in best management practice, water users manage our resources sustainably, and observe Total Catchment Management Principles to preserve our resources for future generations. The result of these commitments is a sustainable future for our communities and for broader Australia.

Successful and developing towns in rural areas throughout Western NSW depend on water as a focus for investment, enhanced employment opportunities, the growth of service industries, value adding infrastructure and regional development

Active, economically strong towns have more businesses which support employment including more banks, accountancy firms, manufacturing and processing works, engineering support companies, more schools, bigger shopping facilities etc. In short Water = jobs = a future for regional development (http://www.northnet.com.au/~namoicom/)

Rural Australians are aware that we have to look beyond economic progress to achieve sustainable societies. Sustainable development must be ecologically sustainable. Economic and social progress depends on base ecosystem services and a healthy environment. Development also implies an improvement in the quality of life through education, justice, community participation and recreation.

Rural Australians are taking an integrated view of the wider economic, social and environmental implications of our decisions and actions for Australia, the international community and the biosphere. Rural Australians are taking a long-term rather than short-term view when taking those decisions and actions.

Australia’s resident population is just over 19 million with a population growth rate of 1.16%. Of these residents 86% live in urban areas.

A report prepared by Environment Australia, investigating the question of whether we are sustaining Australia, reveals that we are enhancing most aspects of individual and community well-being and welfare by following a path of economic development. This path has a strong agricultural base.

Western NSW producers are aware that water is a critical limiting factor for much of the Australian environment and economy. The efficient management of water resources is essential to individual and community well-being, and to the protection of bio diversity and ecological systems.

Agriculture is a significant land use activity across a large area of Australia. It has played and will continue to play a crucial role in Australia’s economic and social development. The importance of sustainable management practices is widely recognized by the rural Australian community.

On-farm, land forming has improved the efficiency of furrow irrigation. Further, less efficient irrigation methods, such as flood and overhead sprinklers, have been replaced with more efficient technologies such as drip irrigation.

Efficiency gains have also been made through managerial improvements, aided by new or more accessible technologies, such as moisture probes, satellite generated mapping, and other remote sensing innovations and a greater understanding of plant nutrient requirements

Agronomic and hydrological characteristics have a large impact on the benefits from improving water use efficiency. In Bourke we have hydrologists and agronomists at the cutting edge of these innovations, leading the way in all aspects of sustainable farming from soil moisture advances to marketing initiatives maximizing output values.

Along the Darling River there has been an increase in environmental water flows which have been sourced from existing and potential consumptive uses, namely irrigation allocations.

LINKS

NSW Irrigators website - http://www.nswirrigators.org.au
NSW Farmers Website - http://www.nswfarmers.org.au/