Written by Caleb Back

Cotton is a thirsty crop, but what if we could reduce its overall water consumption? That’s what Goondiwindi Regional Hub Manager Marti Beeston travelled to Dirranbandi to find out. She joined Cotton Australia for a visit to ‘Clyde,’ a cotton property south of Dirranbandi, run by the 2024 “Grower of the Year” award recipient, Scott Balsillie. Marti toured the property and learned how new innovations in cotton irrigation have led to significant improvements in water consumption—or simply put, getting more out of the water. 

“Clyde is a fascinating example of how farmers are always looking to get more out of their water and improve yields. The work that Scott has put into his property is a testament to the ingenuity of irrigators,” Marti Beeston said. 

“Scott has put in a lot of effort to develop and diversify his property through improved monitoring and the implementation of more efficient irrigation methods,” Ms. Beeston said. 

“The biggest improvement he showed us was the bankless channels, which are an innovative alternative to the industry standard of siphons,” she said. 

“Bankless channels have been shown to save up to 40% of his water consumption, reducing usage from 10 megaliters per hectare down to 7.5 megaliters—a saving of 2.5 megaliters per hectare.” 

On large properties like ‘Clyde,’ and with such a thirsty crop as cotton, that’s a big deal. 

“Bankless channels essentially use gravity to feed water deeper into the crop. Scott started by grading the paddock at a slight angle, with a head ditch at the top and a tail drain at the bottom,” Marti Beeston said. 

“Water fills the head ditch and slowly filters down into the bottom of the crop, as the channels are cut much deeper than traditionally seen with siphons—allowing the water to reach where it needs to go and avoiding runoff,” Ms. Beeston said. 

“Excess water flows down the paddock and into the tail drain, where it is then transported to another paddock,” she said. 

“This means Scott can not only get more water where it needs to be and improve yields, but also save water, reduce evaporation, and lower machinery and labor costs.” 

The visit to ‘Clyde’ was not only an opportunity for Marti Beeston, One Basin CRC Hub Manager for Goondiwindi, to see new innovations but also to connect with the community, stakeholders, and irrigators in the region. 

“As a hub manager, part of my role is to keep our partners informed about what’s happening and showcase opportunities to improve practices and get more out of our water, so coming to ‘Clyde’ was a chance to spread the word to irrigators in our region,” Marti Beeston said. 

“Goondiwindi has a large cotton-growing community, particularly as you travel further west towards St George and Dirranbandi, where ‘Clyde’ is located,” Ms. Beeston said. 

“There’s lots of innovation happening in our region, and not just with bankless channels. Soon, we’ll be unveiling the upcoming evaporative losses project, which aims to find new ways to save water in the cotton industry by reducing water loss from irrigation dams,” she said. 

“This project will be taking place in the Goondiwindi-St George area and will benefit properties just like Scott’s and many others.”  

The evaporative losses project will be a local, place-based initiative in collaboration with the University of Southern Queensland and the Queensland Department of Environment, Science, Tourism, and Innovation. It will fund a PhD and a postdoctoral student as part of the research, all centered in Goondiwindi. 

“We’re taking the research out of the big cities and into the areas that will see the impact. It’s a better and more collaborative approach that will not only support our regions but also enhance research outcomes,” Marti Beeston said. 

“With the formal commencement of the project just around the corner, we can’t wait to work with irrigators around the northern basin and find new approaches to water savings in a region constantly at risk of drought,” she said. 

“If you’re an irrigator in the northern basin with significant dam storages, reach out to the Goondiwindi Hub and get involved.” 

Learn more about the Goondiwindi Regional Hub.

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