IT may have been a long hot summer for southern cotton and grain growers but unconventional bankless channels gave the Clark family, Turkey Lagoon, Boggabilla something to smile about.
The Clark family took over ownership of the 1800 hectare property about a year ago from former owner, Graham Cook and Kylie Cook, who developed four fields into bankless channels following a large flooding event in 2011.
Bankless channels is an alternative form of irrigation which works by overflowing water from a channel below surface level into a neighbouring bay.
The system allows for quicker and better water efficiency with the Clark’s able to water a 21 hectare field in six hours, compared with eight to 12 hours on similar fields with siphons.
The property also features pivot, lateral and siphon irrigation systems, with water sourced from their dam and NSW river water, but it was the bankless method that produced the strongest yields in what was a “tough season for cotton”.
The Clark family grow cotton and mixed grains including wheat, chickpea and sorghum on the property and invited guests of the Queensland Grains Gala Dinner Farm Tours onto Turkey Lagoon.
Hamish Clark said while they had been fortunate to plant their wheat and chickpea on a full moisture profile, frost had been a worry.
“We had a warm winter but with some nasty frosts,” he said.
“Where I live, between Boggabilla and Yetman, it was -3.0 degrees on Tuesday morning (Aug 29) and it was -3.3 degrees a couple of weeks ago which is not ideal.”
He said not only was it the yields that were positive reasons for the bankless system but the ease of access.
“We find the advantages not only not having to start siphons but it’s also for machinery efficiency,” he said.
“You look at how much room you have got for turning around, you are not having to plough out a rotabuck pad every time you want to do an operation.”
The Clark family utilise moisture probes from Goanna Telemetry Systems to analyse water depths and irrigation timings.
Goanna Telemetry Systems General Manager Tom Dowling said new technology from CSIRO now allowed them using satellite imagery and localised weather data to measure who crop water usage.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
