Background
Most farmers lack precise information on how much water they are applying, at what cost and whether it meets the crops’ specific needs. In the face of increasing climate variability, data-driven decision-making is becoming more important than ever.
The demonstration builds on the highly successful Burdekin trial where approximately 7,000 hectares of sugarcane production transitioned from manual irrigation to an automated irrigation toolkit. The toolkit combines irrigation automation hardware, crop growth modelling solutions, real-time energy usage tracking available on a unified data platform, all designed to provide farmers with precise irrigation control.
Why this Matters
The demonstration aims to transfer learnings from the Burdekin sugarcane industry to the Atherton Tablelands by establishing an irrigation baseline that quantifies and records yield and profitability information. With this data, farmers can make informed decisions about electricity use, water management and labour time and costs.
The toolkit has the potential to redefine water and energy management practices across multiple crop types and regions, contributing to long-term drought resilience and productivity growth for agricultural communities.
What We Are Doing
