The Farm Water Program Round 4 Registration of Interest call has reopened to enable irrigators who may have missed the main call another opportunity to participate.
The Goulburn Murray Irrigation District and irrigators have the potential to benefit from $50 million of available funding, so the FWP are urging irrigators to assess their projects and register by 4pm Friday 29th May 2015.
Mr Chris Norman, CEO for the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, said irrigators may have missed the main registration call due to it’s timing or may have been unaware of the conditions for eligibility. “The original opening of Round 4 of the FWP fell within the Easter and school holiday period and for this reason some may have missed the promotion of the call. There has also been some feedback that others may not have been aware that the program can fund all irrigation technologies,” Mr Norman said.
“The GB CMA website has an Eligibility Checklist, Frequently Asked Questions and information regarding Whole Farm Plan Minimum Standards to assist irrigators in assessing the eligibility of their projects. While we have received good projects numbers for the call, this is an additional opportunity to further boost numbers and for irrigators who may have missed the previous deadline,” Mr Norman said. “Irrigators should register on the Farm Water Program hotline on (03) 5822 7788 by 4pm on Friday 29th May 2015, and staff are also available via this number to assist with any other queries.”
Round 4 of the FWP comprises of $50 million of funding under Tranche 2 of the Victorian Farm Modernisation Project, delivered by the Victorian Government. Some key eligibility criteria that irrigators must meet include ensuring they:
• Own the land on which the works will be done and own high reliability water shares;
• Are willing to transfer the specified water savings (expected to be 60%) to the Commonwealth Government (through the GB CMA);
• Have a Whole Farm Plan (WFP) that meets minimum standards and shows the proposed works;
• Have an executed GMW legal agreement connecting the property to a GMW backbone available and/or know the proposed project area connects to an outlet on an approved GMW backbone; and
• Can cover specified cash flow for the final costs of the project before final payment is made by the GB CMA.
“Individuals should seek advice before making decisions in relation to their irrigation systems. However, the Farm Water Program does fund all irrigation types including surface, pivots, sub-surface drip, and micro-sprinklers as long as they meet the other key eligibility criteria for the program,” Mr Norman added.
The Farm Water Program Consortium is led by the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (CMA), in partnership with North Central CMA, North East CMA, Goulburn Murray Water, Dairy Australia, Murray Dairy, and Northern Victorian Irrigators; with funding through the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources. For more information, visit the website: www.gbcma.vic.gov.au/sustainable_irrigation/farm_water.