Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

Overview of Agricultural Opportunities

Snapshot of the Upper Ringarooma 1

Land capability 3

Geology and Soils 4

Understanding land capability and potential irrigable land 5

Enterprise prospects 6

Indicative margins and returns 9

Additional resources 12

Disclaimer 12

Industry Information 12

Contact 12

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Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

Overview of Agricultural Opportunities

Snapshot of the Upper Ringarooma

The Upper Ringarooma catchment is a highly productive and reliable agricultural district in north-east Tasmania. With a favourable climate mean annual rainfall is approximately 1,200 mm at Ringarooma township increasing in the upper reaches of the catchment the predominant land use is pasture for dairying, beef and sheep, followed by potatoes and alkaloid poppies.

The Ringarooma catchment is right in the middle of the traditional north east dairy region based on red soils in the vicinity of Scottsdale through to Winnaleah, and the clay loams and alluvial soils at Pyenganna near St Helens. The main centre of Scottsdale population 1,900 is close by2. The privately-owned Pyengana Dairy, which is famous for its award-winning cheddar cheeses, is nearby in the hills behind the coastal town of St Helens.

Current irrigation is based on taking water from local streams and rivers under licence. Historical irrigation water use in the catchment will soon be regulated by a Catchment Water Management Plan a statutory water-sharing plan. It is likely that limits will be placed on new summer water licences, water access and summer take allocations.

1 Unless otherwise stated adapted from Marsden Jacob Associates 2012. Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme Business Case 5,700 ML scheme. Final report. Tasmanian Irrigation.

2 http://www.intodairy.com.au/index.php/dairy-regions-in-tasmania/15-northern-dairy-region accessed 13-9-12

3 Average reliability is defined as the sum of the actual volume of water available for supply each season for the total period assessed, divided by the sum of the annual volume of water committed for sale for the same total period (assuming the scheme continues to operate as originally designed and that original maximum supply volumes are not exceeded) and is expressed as a percentage.

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The new Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme (URIS) will deliver an additional 5,700 megalitres (ML) over a nominal 120-day summer irrigation season (December to April) with the certainty of 95% reliability3. The combination of new high security irrigation water and approximately 9,000 ha of potential irrigable land, one-third of which is prime agricultural land, provides a significant opportunity to diversify and expand agricultural production in the Ringarooma catchment.

Agriculture in the Upper Ringarooma catchment reliability, productive soils, high rainfall and irrigation.

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Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

Overview of Agricultural Opportunities

Figure 1Map of the Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

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Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

Overview of Agricultural Opportunities

4 RMCG 2010. Land capability and water demand assessment for the proposed Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme. Final report.

5 RMCG 2011. Land capability and water demand assessment for the proposed Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme: addendum to the assessment report dated October 2010.

Land capability

An initial land capability assessment in the wider Ringarooma catchment identified approximately 10,170 ha of potentially irrigable land. Land capability was divided relatively evenly between land capability classes 3, 4 and 5, meaning one-third was classed as prime land.5

Table 1 outlines the land capability of the potentially irrigable land within the proposed new Ringarooma Irrigation District. Once the formal irrigation district boundary is gazetted the actual irrigable land area may change, however the relative proportion of land capability classes will remain consistent. Land capability and potential irrigable land are explained in more detail below.

Current area under irrigation is approximately 4,000 ha, or less than half of the potential irrigable area.5 All the potential irrigable land is suited for pasture production with irrigated dairying currently the main use of water.

Maps of land capability and the potentially irrigable land within the proposed new irrigation district are available from the URIS section on the Tasmanian Irrigation website: www.tasmanianirrigation.com.au.

Land Capability Class Proposed Formal Irrigation District (ha)

3 3,042

4 2,868

5 2,886

Potential irrigable land 8,797

Total area (irrigation district) 15,372

Note: A formal irrigation district boundary and area is yet to be declared under the Irrigation Clauses Act 1973.

Table 1: Land capability of potential irrigable land in the Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

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Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

Overview of Agricultural Opportunities

Geology and SoilsGeology

The soils in northeast Tasmania, including the Ringarooma area, are derived from Ordovician to Devonian Sedimentary Rocks, which are 380-510 million years old.

During the Ordovician to Devonian period, sediments eroded from Gondwana were deposited in ocean basins off the super continents coast. These formed the Mathinna Beds of northeast Tasmania and are mainly comprised of metamorphosed sandstones and siltstones. Some smaller areas are characterised by basalt geology.

Soil types

The soils developed on sandstone and mudstone are varied. In the (Ringarooma) study area they mostly consist of sandy clay loams, mainly Dermosols# but also Kurosols# (mottled, grey yellowish brown gradational soils). Some soils derived from basalt (Ferrosols#) also occur in the region.

(Source: RMCG 2010. Land capability and water demand assessment for the proposed Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme. Final report.)

#For more information on soil types refer to Isbell, R.F. 2002. The Australian Soil Classification. Revised Edition. CSIRO Publishing.

A presentation on the Climate, soils and advantages of north east Tasmania for irrigated agriculture is available from the URIS section of the Tasmanian Irrigation website: www.tasmanianirrigation.com.au

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Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

Overview of Agricultural Opportunities

Land capability is an internationally recognised means of classification, used to evaluate the capability of land to support a range of uses, on a long-term sustainable basis. The classification system comprises seven classes ranked in order of increasing degree of limitation in relation to agricultural use and decreasing order of agricultural versatility. Class 1 is the best land and Class 7 the poorest. Classes 1-3 are considered prime agricultural land suitable for intensive cropping and more frequent cultivation. Class 4 is considered marginal for cropping activities and Class 5 suited to grazing and very limited cultivation. Generally Class 6 is considered marginal for grazing. Land capability at a particular site and hence potential land use is influenced by a range of physical characteristics, as well as the management practices employed.

Complex map units are recorded when two land capability classes are identified in an area and occur in such a pattern that it is not possible to separate them at the scale of mapping being undertaken. For a complex map unit to be mapped each land class must occupy at least 40% of the map unit. In such cases the dominant land class is recorded first, followed by the subdominant land class i.e. Class 3+2.

For further information refer to the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment website www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au.

(Source: Grose C (Ed) 1999. Land Capability Handbook Guidelines for the classification of agricultural land in Tasmania. Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment.)

Potential irrigable land is the total area that may be irrigated under the proposed scheme based on land that is available for irrigation and which can be irrigated sustainably based on land capability. It is calculated from an assessment of land capability (largely land classes 3, 4 & 5), with allowances for topography, unsuitable land uses (e.g. forest reserves) and infrastructure limitations.

(Source: RMCG 2010. Land capability and water demand assessment for the proposed Upper Ringarooma Irrigation

Scheme. Final report.)

The presence of threatened native vegetation and species may also affect the potential irrigable area. Refer to the Tasmanian Forest Practices Authority www.fpa.tas.gov.au and Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au for further information regarding Tasmanian legislation and policies on the protection of native vegetation and natural values.

Note: The land assessment information presented here and in any supporting maps published by Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd only takes into account the physical soil, topographic, and related constraints, and does not include other parameters or any legislative, regulatory and/or policy requirements of Federal, State or Local Governments that apply to the land in question and/or which could affect

a proposed land use or agricultural enterprise.

Understanding land capability and potential irrigable land

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Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Scheme

Overview of Agricultural Opportunities

The north east is one of the most productive agricultural areas in Tasmania and supports