SA Drought E-news, 4th October 2007

From: Drought Response
Sent: Thursday, 4 October 2007 4:15 PM
Subject: SA Drought E-News, 4 Oct 2007
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www.service.sa.gov.au/drought.asp
SA Drought E-News, 4 Oct 2007
Transfer fees for “top up” water to be waived Study on reclaimed water and vines
Low rainfall continues to impact Citrus grower survey on drought issues
Drought support to retain apprentices  
Transfer fees for “top up” water to be waived

The State Government will waive nearly $400,000 in fees to transfer River Murray allocations to "top up" annual water licences in 2007-08.

The Minister for the River Murray Karlene Maywald says waiving the fees will help to relieve the financial burden on irrigators for costs they would not normally incur because of water restrictions.

There are about 3,800 irrigators that could apply for a "top up" and, while not all will do so, many are likely to apply more than once during 2007-08, given that the volume of water available within SA and interstate is severely limited.

In past water restriction years, about 10% of eligible licensees have traded water as top ups. In 2006-07, this increased to about 26% and in 2007-08, it is estimated the number of "top up" trades will increase further, depending on water price and availability.
Low rainfall continues to impact Top

Continuing low rainfall during September 2007 continued to impact on River Murray inflows.

The SA River Murray Fortnightly Update issued by the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation says the total inflow for September 2007 is expected to be approximately 195 GL, which is above the inflow observed in September 2006, but significantly below the long-term median inflow of 1,460 GL.

River Murray salinity levels continued to increase, despite the flows increasing to 2,000 ML/day in mid September - the normal minimum entitlement flow for this time of the year is 4,500 ML/day.

The full report can be seen at www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au/assets/files/RM_WaterResAssess_rpt_28sep07.pdf.
Drought support to retain apprentices Top

Primary producers and related businesses in drought-affected rural areas are being invited to apply for State Government assistance to help them keep on their apprentices and trainees.

A total of $1.5-million is being made available for the Drought Apprenticeship Retention Program as part of the State Government’s drought response package.

The focus of the program is on apprentices or trainees enrolled in rural production, agriculture or horticulture and in automotive and engineering trades that support agricultural production.

Further information: www.employment.sa.gov.au/employ/pages/default/darp/ or telephone 1800 673 097. Application forms are also available from TAFE SA campuses across the State.
Study on reclaimed water and vines Top

A study by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) has found that reclaimed water is not just an alternative source of water for crops, but may be more beneficial than mains water.

The work led by Dr Belinda Rawnsley, focused on a vineyard at McLaren Vale, which was established when reclaimed water first became available in the Willunga Basin region through the Willunga Basin Water Company in 1999.

Earlier and on-going studies by SARDI’s Mike McCarthy have shown there is no difference in yield between vines irrigated with reclaimed or mains water.
The latest study was the first to look at the effect of using reclaimed water, if any, on soil biology.

It had been expected that there would be more soil borne pathogens or diseases and higher levels of microbial activity. However there were actually less pathogens in the soil and there were indeed higher levels of microbial activity which improve nutrient transfer to the vine.
Citrus grower survey on drought issues Top

The SA Citrus Industry Development Board (SACIDB) with assistance from PIRSA has recently engaged Fruit Doctors at Loxton to undertake a phone survey of 100 SA citrus growers, to obtain critical information about how growers are currently dealing with the water crisis.

The survey is being used to obtain grower feedback on topics such as tree removals, grower drought management practices, estimated crop reductions, water sales and or purchases, horticultural crop priorities and details about additional support needed by growers to assist them through current difficult times.

Once analysed, the information will help with forward projections and assist in the development of immediate and future strategies to assist citrus growers.

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