Rice grower Mark Groat plots big future in NSW Riverina

A NSW Riverina rice farmer and Nuffield scholar has a big vision for the future of his industry in Australia.

Growing ambition: Mark Groat on his farm at Beelbangera, near Griffith, in southern NSW, where he produces rice and winter cereal crops and runs sheep.

THE future survival and growth of Australia’s rice industry depends on making the most of every drop of water, according to NSW Riverina farmer Mark Groat.

Mark, who recently completed a Nuffield scholarship on the future of Australian rice production, said while it was “an extremely challenging time” for the industry given concerns about irrigation water availability it was also one of “immense opportunity”.

“Decisions made today will decide if the industry over the next decade is surviving from one year to the next, or is an example and inspiration of what Australian producers, and an Australian commodity industry, can achieve,” he said.

Mark owns and manages a 350ha irrigation farm at Beelbangera, near Griffith, in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, which produces rice, winter cereal crops and sheep.

He has been involved in irrigation layout and design, as well as water-efficiency projects throughout the southern Murray Darling Basin. He also works for SunRice in an agronomy/extension role.

Mark said having experienced the millennium drought “at a critical time in our farming business of asset expansion and business vulnerability” he had seen first-hand “how exposed and underprepared the irrigation industry, and particularly the rice industry, were to such devastating circumstances”.

He said as with most irrigation systems, cashflow was based on intensive, high-turnover production.

“Production is based on water, and when water becomes scarce for an extended period of time the industry was in a lot of pain,” he said, adding that drought, the separation of land and water titles and the implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan had “changed the goalposts of water availability permanently”.

He said rice had “an undeserved reputation of high water use and comparatively low water-use efficiency”.

GROW FOR IT

MARK said as a rice grower with a background in agronomy and extension and experience in irrigation layout and design he wanted to explore how Australia compared with other rice-growing areas of the world, particularly on issues such as water attitudes, opportunities at farmgate and industry levels and returns versus water use.

His Nuffield studies took him to the US, Brazil, Uruguay, China and India. Through the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines he gained an insight into the world’s equatorial rice systems in South East Asia, South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa.

In his findings he said while “few could dispute Australia’s position as the world leader in productive and sustainable rice production” regardless of where the local industry was positioned “the free-market system of water” within the southern basin meant rice was just “another crop competing for water resources”.

Mark said the position itself as a “crop of choice — and for its very survival” the Australian rice industry must focus on increasing water-use efficiency, particularly in terms of dollar returns per megalitre.

“Research focus is currently on ‘aerobic’ production, particularly centred on genetic improvement,” he said. “Immediate gains to the industry, however, will be in addressing three key drivers of WUE — decreasing water use and increasing both yield and farm gate price per tonne.”

Mark said the Australian industry was in the “enviable position” in that it had all area, yield and quality data on one database within SunRice. He said benchmarking showed there was an average two tonnes/ha yield difference between the industry average and the top 20 per cent of growers. “While momentum is gaining in analysis and extension of this data, the industry needs to focus on a more robust and co-ordinated program to analyse why this yield gap exists and extension of results,” he said.

DELAYED RESPONSE

MARK said the irrigation practice of delayed permanent water was unique to the Australian rice system and had “evolving and improving” benefits to WUE and profitability.

“If results of long-term trial data of stubble retention and zero tillage from the Punjab region in India could be replicated in Australia, and this system applied to a bed layout with high water flow for efficient irrigation management, this could provide the required ‘paradigm’ shift for water efficiency in rice,” he said.

Not only would this dramatically increase water-use efficiency, it would develop a rice system “that is not only the world leader in sustainability and productivity but is an integral cog in the regeneration of soils and the environment,” Mark said.

It would also enhance Australia’s reputation in terms of production and sustainability.

“International food companies have a greater focus on sourcing environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable products,” he said.

“Individual consumers want to know more about their food and trust in its source. Australia has a great story to tell, and opportunities lie in getting this positive message to customers and consumers.

“This is a challenging time for the Australian rice industry with variable water supply and water market forces it will likely remain so.”

Mark said to remain a major summer crop in the southern basin, the industry had to have “a step change increase in WUE, and it must have it soon, within five years”.

His report recommended this occur through stubble management, extension services on yield gap, a re-evaluation of research priorities and “telling the story” of rice.