Gippsland › Latest news › South Gippsland Water

Gippsland apple farmer Laurie Thompson uses drip irrigation to conserve water and reduce consumption by 40 percent

Gippsland, a prime locale for apple cultivation, benefits from reliable rainfall and fertile soil. Orchardist Laurie Thompson, employing drip irrigation, conserves water and safeguards crops for a resilient future.

By news@gippsland - 10th April 2024 - Back to News

Apples are one of Australia's favourite fruits and Victoria produces nearly half of the country's crop. Third generation orchardist, Laurie Thompson, says the conditions in his orchards are perfect for growing great fruit. And a switch to drip irrigation has set him up to save significant amounts of water for a sweeter future.

Transitioning from mini sprinklers to drip irrigation five years ago has saved 40% of water usage, it targets roots, reducing evaporation, ensuring optimal soil moisture, hail netting further conserves water by 25%

Bit about the business

I'm the owner and director of Battunga Orchards that employs 17 full time staff. We grow 12,500 tonnes of apples annually as well as pears and lemons across 450 acres at sites in Warragul, Hoddles Creek, and Thorpdale.

We're licenced by Southern Rural Water to use 277 megalitres of surface and groundwater at our sites in Warragul and Thorpdale. This water is essential to the success of my business. What is it about southern Victoria that is good for growing apples? Southern Victoria has reliable rainfall, cold winters, and fertile soils - the perfect ingredients for high-quality fruit.

Irrigation system benefits

Five years ago, we made the call to move from mini sprinklers to drip irrigation systems and it delivered a 40 percent water saving. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the root zone, where it's needed, and as a result we lose less water to evaporation and run off.

Using drip irrigation, we can program the system to put out less water, more often to maintain the optimal soil moisture levels that keeps our fruit trees very happy. We also use hail netting at all our farms to protect our fruit from damaging weather and reduce evaporation in the orchard. We've found it delivers a 25 percent water savings.

Working with Southern Rural Water

Southern Rural Water has always been very helpful when we've needed advice on pumping rights, dam construction and water licensing. They understand farming, they're fair and they've helped us secure water that allows us to expand our business and give local people jobs.

A hotter, drier future is predicted. How are you preparing for this when it comes to water use? Investing in drip irrigation and hail netting was a big outlay but we're glad to have done it because it's made us more climate resilient.

Thanks to Southern Rural Water recently installing a new water metre, we're able to monitor our water use more closely. This helps us use our water allocation wisely and stay within the limit of what we're licensed to use. Compliance is very important because water is a precious, finite resource and making sure everyone is doing the right thing means water is being shared fairly now and in the future.

Business challenges, opportunities

I think input costs and labour will continue to be a challenge, but Aussies will always love their apples and we have the water, smarts, and infrastructure to cater for continuing demand.
Currently, Australia only sells between one to two percent of apples overseas.

There's an industry push to grow exports by 10 per cent, but it's difficult for Victorian producers to engage in export activities due to high costs. Our climate allows us to grow the best Granny Smiths in Australia. With its beautiful dark green colour, a crunchy bite and juicy flavour it's my favourite apply by far.

Pictures from Agriculture Victoria Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com