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| River Murray water allocations remain at 13 percent |
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Minister for the River Murray Karlene Maywald has announced that South Australian irrigation allocations will continue to be restricted to 13 percent.
System inflows and storage levels are still well below average, with the Murray-Darling Basin in a worse position than this time last year. Extensive and above-average rainfall is needed before restrictions on River Murray allocations in South Australia can be eased.
Minister Maywald said that restrictions will remain at 13 percent until the total volume of water available for diversion reaches 1500 GL under the water sharing rules agreed to by State Premiers earlier this year. Good spring rainfall and inflows interstate are needed for this to occur.
For further information about conditions in the River Murray and wider Murray-Darling Basin contact the Drought Link Hotline on 180 20 20 or visit www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au .
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| River Murray condition update |
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A total inflow of 335 GL (excluding Snowy Hydro releases) was received during August, compared to 101 GL during August 2006. This is well below the long-term average of 1 480 GL. While inflows over the last three months have been better than at the same time last year (due to continuing base flows), the volume of water in storage is much lower. At the end of August 2007 the storage volume was approximately 2 000 GL (21% capacity), compared to 3 610 GL (38% capacity) at the same time last year. The long-term average storage volume for the end of August is 6 690 GL (71% capacity).
Salinity levels continue to remain a major concern in South Australia. Low flows across the border and reduced gradient along weir pools have meant that salinity levels have been steadily increasing since March 2007. It is expected that salinity levels will continue to increase without additional flows across the border.
Further information about the River Murray water flow situation for SA irrigators is outlined in the next fortnightly Water Resources Report, due out on Friday 31 August:
www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au/murray/rivercond/index.html#RiverMurrayWaterResourcesReports
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| Managing salinity |
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River Murray irrigators facing restricted water allocations should be considering how to manage increasing salinity.
Under normal water availability, irrigators would leach salt from plant root zones. Restricted allocations mean regular leaching is not a realistic option for most properties. And, although reduced irrigation applications will help reduce the salt load, this is likely to be offset by the higher salinity of the water applied.
Salinity management strategies are closely tied to water management strategies and whatever strategy is adopted, it will rely heavily on measuring and monitoring soil salinity during the season.
A series of fact sheets, including one on measuring salinity, can be found at www.pir.sa.gov.au/pirsa/drought - click onto irrigation and water management on the left hand side.
For further information contact the Loxton Research Centre on 8595 9100.
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| EC application centres open |
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Free sessions to help farmers and small businesses complete application forms for Exceptional Circumstances (EC) support are being held in the Yorke Peninsula, Mid North and the Barossa and Light EC regions during September.
Rural Financial Counselling Service SA (RFCSSA) will have a team of counsellors available to assist at the temporary application centres.
| Minlaton CWA Rooms |
9am to 4.30pm, 4 & 5 September |
| Burra Town Hall |
9am to 4.30pm, 4 & 5 September |
| Bute RSL Club |
9am to 4.30pm, 12 & 13 September |
| Clare RFCSSA Office |
9am to 4.30pm, 12 & 13 September |
| Crystal Brook Institute Hall |
9am to 4.30pm, 18 & 19 September |
| Eudunda Community Club |
9am to 4.30pm, 18 & 19 September |
Appointments are essential and can be arranged by phoning Free Call
1800 836 211. Those making appointments need to take their supporting information to sessions so applications can be completed on the day.
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| EC workshops in Kangaroo Island |
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Workshops to inform farming and small businesses about Exceptional Circumstances (EC) applications will be held in Kangaroo Island during September.
The workshops will feature representatives from Primary Industries and Resources SA (PIRSA), Rural Financial Counselling Service SA and Centrelink explaining EC application guidelines.
Sessions will run for about two hours and will be held:
| Thursday 13 September: |
Kingscote Footy Club Rooms |
3.00pm |
| Thursday 13 September: |
Parndana Sports Club |
7.30pm |
| Friday 14 September: |
American River ‘The Shed’ |
9.00am |
For further information regarding venues and times, contact the PIRSA Kingscote office on 85534949 or visit www.pir.sa.gov.au
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| Free drought workshops for farmers |
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Drought-affected farmers can attend a free workshop to review and learn from their drought management experiences.
The workshops are funded through the State Government’s Community Support Grants and will be held by Brian Ashton and Tim Prance, senior consultants with Rural Solutions SA.
Farmers will have the opportunity to share their experiences and ask themselves: did we feed enough? Was it best to lock stock up? What were the problems? What rations were best? How will we best recover? How did our families cope?
Workshops will be held:
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Western Flat Hall
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1.30pm until 5.30pm, Wednesday 5 September
(BBQ tea provided)
Contact: Glen Reardon 8758 2056.
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Lochaber Hall
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8.30am until noon, Thursday 6 September
(Morning tea provided)
Contact: Tony Legoe 8765 2255.
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Keilira
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1.30pm until 5.30pm, Thursday 6 September
(BBQ tea provided)
Contact: Charles Bruce 8767 5074.
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Kybybolite Football Club
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1.30pm until 5.30pm, Friday 7 September
(BBQ tea provided)
Contact: Ken Solly 8762 0895.
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| Dairy Feed.Fibre.Future field day |
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A ‘make the most of this spring’s feed’ field day will be held in Mt Gambier on Tuesday 4 September.
The event will be held at 10.30 am at Fiebigs Farm, Wandilo Rd and Airport Rd. The day will feature guest speakers Kylie Boston, pasture agronomist, Anthony Pearce, nutritionist, and a panel of local dairy farmers.
Topics include:
- Tips to grow as much grass as possible
- Balancing the daily diet for rumen health
- Maximising the amount of fodder conserved this spring
- Poo scoring and what it tells you about your herd’s nutrition
- What local dairy farmers are doing this season.
For further information and to RSVP contact Kirstie Murphy, 8536 3958,
0408 088 624, e-mail: kmurphy@adam.com.au.
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| Emergency assistance for families |
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Farming families finding it hard to make ends meet can seek emergency relief through the Country Women’s Association (CWA).
Emergency relief grants of up to $2000 are available for drought-affected families to help meet essential household expenses and other basic necessities.
Families should contact the State Branch of the CWA on (08) 8332 4166 for more information.
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Drought E-News is a regular newsletter updating the State Government’s drought response. If you’ve been forwarded this E-News and you would like to subscribe, click on the link below, complete the details and you will receive drought E-News in the future.
Feedback is always welcome, email Drought News.
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