There is no doubt that water is the limiting factor on an farms. It is argued about passionately and has entered a very public arena with demands from environmental, political, community and agricultural sectors. The cost of the cuts in entitlements, at a time when volumes in storage and flows are minimal has multiplied the impact. None of us should be in any doubt as to the value of every litre however, we need to be wise and careful about how we are going to utilise the water we have. Assure as night follows day there will be experts and wizbang solutions that will solve your every problem. If you scratch just about anyone who has installed an alternative irrigation system, you will find a wiser, often poorer, usually very tired and disillusioned irrigator. There are good results being achieved both with improvements in management of surface irrigation systems, as well as successful alternative systems. What makes the difference and how are we to determine the best for our farm?