Markus Lang’s Agriculture Victoria Trial Farm Update

Markus Lang is one of the trial farms which are part of the SIP2 Agriculture Victoria project. As a result of the project Markus knows that more water is being used to irrigate the pastures and less is running off. They have been able to improve their efficiency by timing their irrigations better, and also stopping them at more optimal times to reduce runoff. The simple tools mean that there is less gut feel and much more data to make decisions. They use bay sensors at the bottom of the bay and use weather stations measuring rainfall and ET. There is no need for large investments in equipment. The aim is to make irrigation decisions simpler but also to increase water use efficiency, reduce labour and pumping costs. The bonus is the pastures have really responded.