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/
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