getting smart

More than one hundred years of water use wisdom was tapped into at a recent information gathering day in Longreach for the innovative WaterSmart project.

Erroll Entriken and Allen Hubbard share their water knowledge

“We had a huge range of ages and experiences represented,” said Cameron O’Neil from Desert Channels Queensland. “They were there to learn more about the latest techniques and technologies while at the same time sharing what they’ve learnt from life on the land.”

WaterSmart is about gathering information on current practices and matching that with the most advanced technologies in stock water storage and delivery on pastoral properties. The goal of the project is to improve, stock management control, total grazing pressure and overall condition of arid and semi-arid pastoral country.

 “It was exciting to see so much information and wisdom on water management being shared, not only from around this region, but also across State borders,” said Mr O’Neil.

More than a dozen key cattle & sheep producers from the shires of Longreach, Blackall, Tambo, Winton, Diamantina and Barcoo, along with representatives from each partner organisation, attended the day on the 2^nd of February.

Mr O’Neil said that the focus of the information day was to gather information on regional water management issues and incorporate these views into the fundamentals of the project.

“We want to make sure WaterSmart delivers what pastoralists need and not what someone else thinks they do,” he said.

“Ultimately we’ll be setting up demonstration sites for new technologies and techniques so local producers can see, first hand, what works and how they can use it.”

The WaterSmart Pastoral Production Project information day held in Longreach was the first of three to be held across the project area. The others will be in Alice Springs and the Gawler Ranges in South Australia .

“Our first information day exceeded initial expectations with the producers who attended providing the project with some fantastic information on the stock water issues facing pastoralists in the Desert Channels region,” said Mr O’Neil. “We’re really looking forward to seeing what comes out of the other information days and to getting our trial sites set up so producers can see new ideas in action.”

WaterSmart is a three-year partnership project between Longreach based Desert Channels Queensland, the South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resource Management Board, and Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre at Alice Springs who are also the project managers.