Evaporation reduction from farm dams in Australia is regarded as one of the few areas where there are real water savings to be made. At this stage, there are a number of commercial evaporation reduction systems available that use either a hard or polymer cover. Currently these systems are deemed to be viable (M. Durack pers. comm., 2004) for high value crops such as table grapes but are generally not financially viable for lower value crops such as sorghum or cotton. The Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland (NR&M) has invested $650,000 to test a number of evaporation systems. There is likely to be other private and public research occurring.

Land, Water & Wool is an ambitious research and development program spanning 5 years that sought to examine key natural resource issues faced by woolgrowers in a commercial context. It has generated new information to help bridge the current gaps between natural resource management (NRM) and woolgrowing practices. The program has provided the Australian wool industry with enhanced knowledge and tools to better understand and minimise its environmental impacts, while at the same time enhancing or maintaining productivity and profitability. Before this program, the wool industry's R&D investment in NRM was fairly limited. Now, the Australian wool industry is recognised as a significant player in the identification and implementation of more sustainable farming practices.

Extensive work on soil structure by researcher Dr Bruce Cockroft from Northern Victoria has brought the maintenance of soil structure into the spotlight as a promising area for irrigators to work on to improve their yields. An overview of Cockroft's research has been prepared by Dr Rob Murray at the University of Adelaide for the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation.

National Dryland Salinity Program Investment Profile 1998 2003

Improving water use efficiency has been a driving force for government and commercial endeavours for several decades but the term can mean different things to different people. For example, to governments water use efficiency may be a key to optimising production from water resources, while for irrigators it may contribute to optimal profit for their business.

Adopting an Open Hydroponics management program requires a reliable water supply, a significant investment in capital infrastructure, an increase in operating costs and a change in management skills. All of these factors need to be considered before a decision is made to adopt Open Hydroponics. This fact sheet covers the following; *Understanding Open *Hydroponics *Water Requirements *Productivity claims *Management skills and tools *Financial considerations Other options *Further information *Open Hydroponics: Risks and Opportunities Project Team

Information in 'Land, Water & Wool: managing for sustainable profit' is presented in five ways: 1. Executive summary - highlighting the main findings from the program. This presents the major messages and indicates the type of information contained within the report. 2. Overview - pulling together information from throughout the program and across all regions. It presents the key principles to sustainable grazing management and general information about how sheep can remain a productive element of future Australian landscapes. 3. Woolgrower perspectives - letting woolgrowers and researchers tell their stories about the issues they manage and how they go about it. Regional case studies are used to show how information from Land, Water & Wool is applied in the Pastoral, Wheat-Sheep and High Rainfall Zones. 4. Research summaries - highlighting the key research findings and their application, as well as directing readers to the main reports or management guides now available. The information is presented under sub-program titles dealing with themes of saltlands, native vegetation, rivers, pastoral, climate and future scenarios. 5. Product directory - a listing of all the documents produced by the entire Land, Water & Wool program (indexed by region, research theme and its intended use). The on-line directory includes a snapshot, along with a summary of the information it presents and a PDF of the product.

This manual has been developed through the 'Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands' (SGSL) research and development program. SGSL was a five-year nationwide research and development program designed to provide wool growers and meat producers who are living with salt-affected land the most up-to-date, best bet information to enable sustainable, profitable production from saltland pastures. The SGSL program comprised a combination of activities based upon: * research conducted at five major national research sites, * locally relevant research trials initiated and conducted by wool and meat producer groups, and * knowledge sharing through regional and national networks. This manual has been developed through the 'Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands' (SGSL) research and development program. SGSL was a five-year nationwide research and development program designed to provide wool growers and meat producers who are living with salt-affected land the most up-to-date, best bet information to enable sustainable, profitable production from saltland pastures. The SGSL program comprised a combination of activities based upon: * research conducted at five major national research sites, * locally relevant research trials initiated and conducted by wool and meat producer groups, and * knowledge sharing through regional and national networks.

Australia's inland rivers occur across the vast, predominantly arid regions of the continent, comprising 70% of its land area. Some, like the Murray-Darling eventually flow out to sea, whilst others like the Diamantina and Cooper Creek, flow inland to Lake Eyre. These river systems have highly variable flows, they come and go, flood large wetlands or lakes, wet vast floodplains, create new watercourses and dry out to meandering braided channels, billabongs and waterholes. They are fed by thousands of small creeks, and these 'arteries' drive ecological processes, create habitat for plants and animals and provide water for industry, irrigation, electricity generation and domestic use.