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29 July 2025

Generating value from improved irrigation practice

Blog by Steve Attard (AgriTech Solutions)

I’m Steve Attard, Irrigation Agronomist and Managing Director of AgriTech Solutions. I’ve spent nearly 30 years working across the Burdekin sugarcane region. I support growers and extension staff in refining irrigation strategies informed by decades of research and practical results. Here is what I have learnt.

Steve Attard


I have been involved in irrigation related work for almost 30 years, working mostly across the Burdekin to support growers and extension staff in improving irrigation practices. 


As an agronomist, I draw on decades of research and fieldwork to help many growers – providing them with data-driven advice, including the adoption of efficient automated irrigation systems that now cover 9,000 hectares across the region. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than to see farmers taking up the right technology that delivers benefits to them and the wider community. 


The waste of over irrigating


All irrigators are aware of the ever-increasing cost of both water and electricity and are always looking to cut input costs without lowering yields.  There is no debate that farmers believe over irrigating is a waste. Energy bills are among the biggest input costs for Burdekin growers, alongside the cost of water allocations. But over irrigation also impacts productivity as well. Too much water leads to waterlogged fields triggering denitrification, along with high leaching and runoff, all stripping fertiliser and nitrogen from the soil that can't be absorbed by crops.


For Burdekin farmers, irrigation management plays a major role in determining productivity and profitability. Water is the vector that carries sediment, pesticide and nutrient off paddocks.  It is logical to believe that more over irrigation leads to more runoff.


Programs that optimise water management


Since 2020, I have been involved in irrigation projects like the Burdekin Irrigation Project (BIP). This program focuses on engaging farmers to improve irrigation practice that deliver reductions in energy and water costs, while maintaining productivity and profitability.


We recently had three demonstration sites that compared the farmer’s current irrigation practice to improved practice. We recorded the rainfall and all irrigation events for each crop, and conducted water quality monitoring for much of each growing season. This gave us a strong understanding of losses, and the results were clear.


More irrigation, more water losses


The results told us a consistent story across all the three sites.  Under current practices, irrigation applications were often exceeding the volume of water the crop needed, leading to losses through runoff and deep drainage.  In contrast, when improved practices were implemented there were clear benefits.  Where the current practice was measured to be over applying, the improved irrigation practices were typically able to reduce total water application by up to 30% with no yield penalty.  As a result, runoff loss was reduced by up to 50% at some sites. This is a huge saving.


Efficient irrigation led to less runoff


Water quality monitoring showed that the practice with reduced runoff also generated lower amounts of pesticides and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (also known as DIN, a key component of fertiliser) leaving the paddock.  For most of us this would seem logical, but measurements need to be taken to verify this is a consistent relationship.


At one of the more intensely monitored sites, runoff from the improved irrigation practice was 80% lower than the current practice irrigation runoff.  Two of the positive stories from this same site are:


  • At least 50% reduction was measured in dissolved inorganic nitrogen


  • At least 50% reduction was measured in pesticide losses


Of course, not all fields are being over-irrigated, some are doing a great job at matching crop water use and irrigation application. Others are under irrigating and are likely to be limiting yield. 


TIPS: Get the right tools and apply these principles







  1. https://sugarresearch.com.au/growers/irrigation-and-energy/

  2. https://www.nqdrytropics.com.au/projects/sustainable-agriculture/lbwq-program/

  3. https://www.nqdrytropics.com.au/burdekin-irrigation-project/

  4. https://www.wilmarsugar-anz.com/media-centre/latest-news/automated-irrigation-on-our-farms

  5. https://www.wilmarsugar-anz.com/media-centre/latest-news/irrigation-trial-yields-strong-results

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