With apologies to Kaye & Brent Rodden – this article is a combination of their articles from the old website and the June 2019 newsletter article.

Photo above: The presenters talking water, at the field day.

Regarded as one of the best events our Group has ever organised, Josh Walter, Manager of Murnong Farm, hosted the BHLG April Field Day on farm water sources and conservation. There was considerable interest from the 30 strong audience and the five speakers were first class – they knew their stuff and related well to the audience.

Everything was as dry as chips, and so the discussions about how to manage water across a range of farming operations was more than relevant. Little did we know that a week later the break would come, and we would all collectively sigh with relief as the landscape greened and water trickled into our dams and waterways!

The field day was a real partnership between the many different players in water management and gave a real integrated insight into all the factors that need to be considered when deciding on how to plan for the many competing demands for water on your farm.

Of course, we need to start with Josh Walter, the manager of Murnong Farming, who has to juggle the water use of a free-range piggery with the demands of his sheep breeding and fattening operations. Then there was Clem Sturmfels from Ag Vic (Ararat) who is an authority on managing water infrastructure on farms, including dam construction and siting so talked mainly about the mechanics and pitfalls of building and maintaining farm dams. He emphasised the depth of dams to reduce water temperature and minimise evaporation plus the slope of the dam walls to reduce erosion and improve compaction to prevent seepage. Clem also emphasised the importance of water quality on animal health and production, a point which was reinforced by Jim Seager, Vice-President of BHLG who spoke about the economics of alternative water sources such as solar pumping, town water and tankers and his practical experience in the Barrabool Hills was very valuable in the discussions.

Angus Ramsay from Southern Rural Water explained the complexities of allocating and licensing river and ground water including the legalities of collecting/harvesting water.

Tony Byrne of the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority spoke about the importance of maintaining natural waterways and the impact dam building in gullies, which may affect water flow downstream. He also discussed the funding opportunities available for fencing and revegetation of stream sides.

A number of those attending were eager to have their dam water tested by Deidre Murphy from the Waterwatch team, who discussed the chemical and biological parameters used to measure the health of stored and running water and also how we could become more involved as Citizen Scientists, in monitoring the health of our river systems.

Once again, our amazing “catering team” headed by Christa Jones provided a wonderful spread of food during the day, which was most appreciated as we all needed something to help us stay warm on what was probably the first cold day this year.

Over 35 members attended the field day, and the feedback was very positive, many commenting that what they had learned would change the way they managed their scarce farm water supplies in the future. So, a very successful event.

Our thanks to Nerissa Lovric from AG Vic Colac for helping to organise the day, and of course to Josh Walter and Murnong Farming for generously hosting the event.