episodic Smarter Irrigation for Profit Phase II (SIP2)

Smarter Irrigation for Profit Phase II is a partnership between cotton, dairy, sugar, rice and grains, research organisations and farmer groups. SIP2 builds on Smarter Irrigation for Profit Phase 1 which enabled research in areas of irrigation system audits, irrigation scheduling, new technology, system design and water use efficiency. Phase 1 demonstrated that improved water productivity hinged on ‘Getting the Basics Right’. It found that participating Australian irrigators could achieve a 10-20 percent improvement in farm profitability by adopting best practice and precision irrigation technologies.

An essential part of Smarter Irrigation for Profit is the commercial optimised irrigation sites. These sites provide an opportunity for researchers, consultants, producers and industry support staff to share knowledge, see how irrigation technology can be applied and collaborate across industries through field walks and field days.

Smarter Irrigation for Profit Phase II has 14 sub-projects looking at:

  • New and innovative irrigation technologies,
  • Cost effective, practical automated irrigation systems and
  • The application of best practice irrigation techniques.

The objective of SIP2 is to improve the profit of over 4000 cotton, dairy, rice, grains and sugar irrigators.

SIP2 is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment as part of it's Rural R&D for Profit program.

]]> The SIP2 Podcast 2024 - Smarter Irrigation for Profit - Phase II Smarter Irrigation for Profit - Phase II false en https://www.smarterirrigation.com.au Dr Malcolm Gillies and Professor Joseph Foley from the University of Southern Qld talk about irrigation performance and how SISCOweb can be used to optimised surface irrigation.

Optimised surface irrigation can occur where-ever an understanding of irrigation inflow rates into furrows or bays can be measured, and the corresponding irrigation water advance times down the field can be captured during the irrigation event.

The SISCOweb processes available today determine the infiltration curve for the field during the irrigation event, and then optimise for the best time to cut-off the irrigation water supply into the field. This can be delivered as a scheduled closure time on an automation gate, or via an SMS to growers managing the irrigation.

Optimising individual irrigation events will help growers apply the right amount of water and help improve irrigation water use efficiency.

]]> SISCOweb Channel Chat SISCOweb Channel Chat 00:14:06 583c2687-9627-491c-a0ea-98759de8413d Smarter Irrigation for Profit - Phase II 1 3 full false https://pod.co/sip2/april-2022 Fri, 06 May 2022 00:00:15 +0000 Dr Alison McCarthy from University Southern Qld talks about her projects in Dairy and Cotton where she has developed the VARIwise software which is able link field sensor information from multiple sources to generate an irrigation prescription. The software enables communication with commercially available variable rate irrigation systems. Irrigation can then be applied to the field so that there are no areas of either over or under irrigation. This system enables optimised irrigation resulting in 5-10 % improvement in yield, with additional water and labour savings.

]]> Irrigation Automation in Agriculture Irrigation Automation in Agriculture 00:12:32 300c56c4-9f02-4e45-af2c-e7d3a8af8b0b Smarter Irrigation for Profit - Phase II 1 2 full false https://pod.co/sip2/irrigation-automation-in-agriculture Wed, 07 Jul 2021 00:00:21 +0000 Gravity fed flood irrigation systems are an important part of the dairy industry in Victoria. The SIP2 researchers from Agriculture Victoria; Andy McAllister, Amjed Hussain and Des Whitfield talk about their work with producers to develop a more efficient whole farm gravity fed irrigation system. They are using satellite-based irrigation scheduling and new irrigation bay designs. This approach relies on minimal use of in-field sensors and will integrate farm irrigation scheduling with automated management of irrigation re-use systems. This will enable producers to make better irrigation and grazing management decisions.

]]> 1. Scaling irrigation management to support whole farm operations 1. Scaling irrigation management to support whole farm operations 00:17:45 fd266b22-178e-40fb-86cb-26a45db8012c Smarter Irrigation for Profit - Phase II 3 1 full false https://pod.co/sip2/1-scaling-irrigation-management-to-support-whole-farm-operations Sun, 03 Jan 2021 23:00:13 +0000 Using plant bases sensing to monitor plant stress have been researched for many years, the challenge was determining how to apply the information so it could be of practical benefit to irrigators. Investment by the CRDC and CSIRO into the use of Canopy Temperature Sensors in cotton have enable the technology to be commercialised with agtech company GoannaAg. The technology can improve irrigation scheduling in both a fully irrigated and a partially irrigated cotton crop

GUESTS

Dr Hiz Jamali - Research Scientist with CSIRO Agriculture and Food

Peter Lennox - Cotton Grower - Gunnedah

For more information visit the Smarter Irrigation for Profit 2 website

]]> Plant Based Sensing - Optimising irrigation timing in limited water cotton systems Plant Based Sensing - Optimising irrigation timing in limited water cotton systems 00:12:16 9d213772-55ee-4ea5-9748-dd981394f299 Smarter Irrigation for Profit - Phase II 2 1 full false https://pod.co/sip2/plant-based-sensing-optimising-irrigation-timing-in-limited-water-cotton-systems Thu, 17 Dec 2020 23:00:16 +0000 Minimising evaporation will reduce losses and mean more water is available for production.

GUESTS

Dr. Will Lee - Researcher - Department of Mechanical Engineering - University of Melbourne

Dr. Joel Scofield - - Researcher - Department of Chemical Engineering - University of Melbourne

For more information visit the Smarter Irrigation for Profit 2 website

]]> Minimising evaporation from water storages Minimising evaporation from water storages 00:15:00 76aaa5a6-3b1b-4b10-81e4-6f0d8729ed16 Smarter Irrigation for Profit - Phase II 1 1 full false https://pod.co/sip2/minimising-evaporation-from-water-storages Thu, 05 Nov 2020 05:30:14 +0000