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Forage Options for Dairy Farms with Reduced Water Availability in the Southern Murray Darling Basin of Australia

Author

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  • Mary-Jane Rogers

    (Agriculture Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs Transport and Resources, Private Bag, 255 Ferguson Rd., Tatura, VIC 3616, Australia)

  • Alister Lawson

    (Agriculture Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs Transport and Resources, Private Bag, 255 Ferguson Rd., Tatura, VIC 3616, Australia)

  • Kevin Kelly

    (Agriculture Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs Transport and Resources, Private Bag, 255 Ferguson Rd., Tatura, VIC 3616, Australia)

Abstract

The dairy industry in the southern Murray Darling Basin region of Australia is a major consumer of irrigation water because rainfall is low relative to evapotranspiration and the industrys relies heavily on irrigated temperate pastures and fodder crops. Water reforms, and potential climate change scenarios for this region suggest that there will be an overall decline in rainfall and water available for irrigation in the future. For the irrigated dairy industry to remain economically viable, there is a need for dairy farmers to improve the water productivity (WP) of their forage systems and to be able to respond to year-to-year, and within year, variation in water availability. Researchers and dairy farmers are evaluating strategies to increase WP. These include: (i) selecting better-adapted species for current and predicted climatic conditions; (ii) using species that can survive and still be productive under reduced irrigation and then recover when full irrigation is restored; (iii) modifying irrigation strategies to reduce water use whilst maintaining WP; and (iv) grazing management strategies that facilitate the survival during, and recovery after, periods of moisture stress. This review will examine these strategies and discusses their potential to optimise forage production from irrigation water inputs so that the dairy industry in the southern Murray Darling Basin remains viable in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary-Jane Rogers & Alister Lawson & Kevin Kelly, 2017. "Forage Options for Dairy Farms with Reduced Water Availability in the Southern Murray Darling Basin of Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:12:p:2369-:d:123412
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Greenwood, K.L. & Lawson, A.R. & Kelly, K.B., 2009. "The water balance of irrigated forages in northern Victoria, Australia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 847-858, May.
    2. Hanson, Blaine & Putnam, Dan & Snyder, Richard, 2007. "Deficit irrigation of alfalfa as a strategy for providing water for water-short areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 73-80, October.
    3. Neal, J.S. & Fulkerson, W.J. & Hacker, R.B., 2011. "Differences in water use efficiency among annual forages used by the dairy industry under optimum and deficit irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(5), pages 759-774, March.
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    1. Youzhen Xiang & Haiyang Zou & Fucang Zhang & Shengcai Qiang & You Wu & Shicheng Yan & Haidong Wang & Lifeng Wu & Junliang Fan & Xiukang Wang, 2018. "Effect of Irrigation Level and Irrigation Frequency on the Growth of Mini Chinese Cabbage and Residual Soil Nitrate Nitrogen," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Ntege, Ivan & Kiggundu, Nicholas & Wanyama, Joshua & Nakawuka, Prossie, 2023. "Napier yield response under different irrigation strategies in a tropical setting," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    3. Cristian J. Moscoso & Fernando Ortega-Klose & Alejandra Acuña, 2021. "Are Chilean Pasture Seed End-Users Adopting New Species? Trends and Joinpoint Regression Analysis of the Last 19 Years of Seed Imports," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, June.

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