A sunburned grain Stamps of approval Pockets of gold in ... - adron.sr

ainRICEGROWERS' ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIAReporting the impact of an 8-yeardrought on rice production is astrange caper, I thought, as thewheels of a four-wheel motorbikecovered me head to toe with mud. Iwas sitting behind Rob Houghton, afarmer from just outside Leeton in theAustralian state of New South Wales,who was driving me through the pouringrain to his ... soybean field. When I metMr. Houghton, I expected him to takeme to his rice field. The problem is, he’snot growing any this year. Despite themorning’s deluge, Mr. Houghton wasn’tallocated enough water this season toensure a good rice crop. The alternativewas soybeans, which, although not asprofitable (see Table), don’t need as muchwater.“There have been only 2 yearssince my father started growing ricehere in 1942 that we haven’t grown rice,and they’ve been in the last 5 years—this year and 2 years ago,” says Mr.Houghton.Australian rice production from1999 to 2002 averaged more than 1.3million tons per year. In 7 years, from2003 to 2009, the average was less than360,000 tons. The 2008 harvest saw thelowest production since the industrybegan in Australia, at a mere 19,000 tons(see figure below). The drought averageis actually flattered by a million-ton cropWater use, productivity, and profitability for 2006summer crops in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation AreaCrop Megaliters AU$/ha AU$/MLRice 13.5 1,675 124Cotton 10 1,136 114Lucerne 10 2,197 220Maize 8.5 839 99Soybean 8 483 60Data source: Compiled by Laurie Lewin from summer cropgross margins at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au (now www.industry.nsw.gov.au)1,3811,0881,7441,2413905291999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Crop yearAustralian rice production (1999-2009).Data source: SunRice305in 2006, partly the result of an advanceof growers’ future years’ water. The2010 crop is expected to bring in around185,000 tons.Mr. Houghton farms 520 hectaresin the Riverina region of southwest NewSouth Wales, which includes the MurrayValley, Murrumbidgee, and ColeamballyIrrigation Areas (see map on page 16).Overall, the region is home to around1,500 rice-farming families.Before the drought began in2002, Mr. Houghton grew a rice cropof 100–150 hectares each Australiansummer (planting in October-Novemberand harvesting in March-April). His farmyielded about 10 tons per hectare. Sincethe rains failed, that area for rice hasfallen to an average of around 30 hectaresper year, excluding the seasons in whichhe grew no rice at all.“The summer crop is where wereally make our money,” says Mr.Houghton. “In drought times, though,we’ve really ramped up our winter cropprogram because your water goes somuch further.”The long-term lack of rain hasnot only reduced the amount of wateravailable to farmers, but it has alsoincreased water requirements when riceis grown. In better times, Mr. Houghtonneeded 13 million liters (megaliters) ofwater per hectare per season to grow rice.In the 2008-09 season, with water tablessinking lower and lower after almosta decade of drought, the figure was 22megaliters.“We just need a good wet winterto sort that out,” says Mr. Houghton.“It’s only a short-term impact, butyou can’t grow rice economicallyusing 22 megaliters per hectare and,environmentally, it’s not a sound moveeither.”Paddy delivered (thousand tons)1,04016619 66Water sharingAside from limitingcrop choices, hesays that the dryspell has forcedthe region’s ricegrowers to makefundamentalchanges to the waythey farm. Growersare becoming muchcannier in the wayRice Today April-June 201013