South Australian Murray Irrigators

A prominent Riverland winegrape grower has said there needs to be a cultural shift to recognise farmers who choose to walk off the land.

Moorook winegrape and citrus grower Sheridan Alm has dubbed irrigators who decide to leave the industry as heroes.

Ms Alm will give advice to winegrape growers about how to best plan for the upcoming season at Some Like It Hot, the wine industry’s premier conference for warm climate regions, to be held at the Chaffey Theatre in Renmark on November 6.

“A lot of assistance with social restructure is necessary. It would be best to acknowledge that growers who decide to sell their water are making a very noble decision to exit the industry right now, it should not be seen that you’ve failed and are copping out,” she said.

“The irrigators that decide to exit would be doing their neighbours and the river such a huge favour and they should be on the front page of the newspaper. Our community must support these people positively – there will be new opportunities for these families in the Riverland. The catch is that this favour deserves greater financial reward than is currently on offer.

“Unfortunately, Australian farmers are portrayed as people who can just keep battling on through anything. It’s definitely a social issue.”

Ms Alm said now is the time for winegrape growers to make some tough decisions about the upcoming season – including deciding what varieties to irrigate – to ensure they can survive the irrigation drought.

“I would be strongly recommending that we’re not going to see a way out of this drought in the short term and my experiences in trying to get by on less water haven’t been successful. It’s just better to use the required amount of water to grow a good crop and keep your customers happy,” she said.

“Trying to get by with limited water just does ongoing damage to the vineyard and you’re spending money while you’re degrading your asset. You might as well stop irrigating the less profitable areas and keep your hands in your pockets.”

Ms Alm said she felt relieved after making the decision to stop irrigating over 10ha of less profitable areas before the 2007 season. “If you have done the planning you can see the benefits in your financial and water budgets,” she said

Ms Alm encouraged growers to develop a flexible water budget that allows them to be aware of how they will purchase water at different trigger points throughout the season, using the early predictions as a guide.

“It is good to have a few things sorted out going into the season so that during the season you can act quickly and concentrate on growing the grapes,” she said. “I think it’s important that people make the decision now whether they are in or they’re out.

“While I may have a few pessimistic things to say, I am still very optimistic that if everything falls into place as we hope it will, with regards to the timing of water buyback and the roll out of the Murray Darling Basin Agreement, we will come out the other end.

“We have to remain positive, but at the same time make well informed decisions.”