Rice growers using groundwater on their crops need to plan to minimise the harmful effects of water salinity. Rice Extension has put together some key management techniques that can be used to mitigate the risk of salty water on rice production.

Brett and Louise Turner have grown two record drill sown Reiziq crops, averaging more than 15 t/ha in both the C19 and C20 seasons. They believe it’s all about making sure the little things are done right, and done on time.

Low surface allocations and high water prices at the beginning of the C20 season meant that many growers opted to use ground water to grow their rice. This case study looks DJ and CA Hardy’a management of groundwater to grow a record Viand yield in Coleambally.

Wanting to increase productivity and profitability, Darrell Fiddler, Operations Manager at De Bortoli Farming, looked at double cropping as one way to do it. Darrell grew three crops on a 32-ha paddock in a 20-month period. It was made possible by a good paddock layout, excellent attention to detail, and savvy business management.

Rice Growers utilised ground water in 2019-20 season to make rice profitable summer crop of choice. This case study focuses on key management steps undertaken in the Murray Valley to ensure a profitable outcome.

To reduce striping in his rice crops, Chris Morshead has halved both his spreading width and rate of urea for pre permanent water on his C19 drill sown crop. Crop uniformity and appraisals both increased in C19, which Chris attributes to his improvement in crop nutrition and placement of fertiliser.

Last season a Yenda drill sown crop used 1 ML/ha less than an adjacent dry broadcast crop and yielded 14.99t/ha which not only shows the potential water savings but demonstrates it doesn’t carry a yield penalty.

April and Robert Andreazza of Wilbriggie, C19 Doongara crop (41 ha) yielded 14.0t/ha (1.18t/ML) and is the highest Doongara crop on record. Robert drill sowed for the first time in his C19 crop to make the most of the small water allocation year with reduced hectares from his usual rice program.

Growers are continually improving their practices to increase yields and lower water use. In this book we share just some of their innovative practices.

Peter and Renee have previously double cropped rice with a winter crop with success. Their standard practice had been sowing Sherpa after Canola, in mid to late November using the dry broadcast method. In 2017-18 they decided to drill sow Viand into a wheat stubble.

Peter and Renee have been growing rice for 21 years using predominantly aerial sown or dry broadcast sowing methods with great success. So why would they take on the challenge to change to drill sow 95% of their 1550 acres sown in 2017-18?

Growers are choosing the short season variety, Viand (YRM70) for a number of reasons. It is a better option than conventionally irrigated Reiziq when sown on higher water use ground and for late sowing.

It was meeting other inspiring women that led Gillian Kirkup to believe she could reach the leadership heights she has. She is currently a director on the SunRice Board and NSW Rice Marketing Board (RMB) and a former Murrumbidgee Irrigation Chairman. She is keen to offer support to the next generation of leaders.

Growing organic rice is a lifestyle choice for Bill Barnhill. He started growing organic rice in 1986. Over the years, he has perfected his management practices and has achieved impressive results with consistent yields between 7-8 t/ha. In 2017/18, the crop yielded 8.8 t/ha and at the price of $750/t he achieved a very profitable gross margin of $380/ML.

Clint Badoco wants to make the highest profit he can from rice. In the 2017/18 season, he drill sowed 400 ha of rice for the first time. Traditionally he has dry broadcast his entire rice crop, with good results. However, Clint believed with a change to drill sowing, he could achieve the same yields, decrease his water use and increase the total area he could grow with available water.

Kellie Crossley farms with her husband Andrew and his parents Ken and Robyn Crossley north of Deniliquin with access to both the Murrumbidgee and Murray Irrigation schemes. Kellie’s role in the farm business focuses on bookkeeping and farm business management.

Bilbul irrigator, Darrell Fiddler, aims for the most profitable crop, which is not always the highest yielding. In the high water price years since 2013/14, the rice, cotton and winter cereal grower has been drill sowing rice and delaying the permanent water for up to nine weeks after the first flush.

Chris and Sue Hardy of Coleambally have benefited from the adoption of new plant and infrastructure technologies to increase the productivity, profitability and efficiency of their farming business.

Investigation, listening and learning reveal the tricks to growing a successful Koshihikari crop.