Dated: 20 May 2011
“This is the most important day for Tasmanian agriculture since the Craigbourne and Meander dams came on stream,” Tasmanian
Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Jan Davis said today with the official completion of the $11 million Whitemore Irrigation Scheme.
It is the first of 13 new schemes being developed by the Tasmanian Irrigation Development Board, soon to be Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd, that will drought-proof the state’s most important growing areas, giving farmers 95 per cent certainty of the water they need to irrigate their crops.
The Whitemore scheme provides 5500 megalitres of water over a 150-day irrigation season to an initial 45 farms extending from the foot of the Western Tiers to north of Hagley via 40 km of underground pipes. The irrigated area includes Whitemore, Oaks, Bracknell, Liffey and Glenore.
With the Meander Dam on one side and the Cressy-Longford scheme on the other, the Whitemore scheme creates an arc of irrigation stretching from the west of Deloraine to Cressy and beyond.
“Our farmers have put their money where their mouth is, contributing $6 million of the total cost of the Whitemore scheme,” Ms Davis said.
“Water from this scheme will secure their ability to produce crops such as poppies, potatoes and other vegetables and to produce pasture for dairy and stock fattening.”
Jan Davis http://www.tfga.com.au/
