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102-712: The Murray–Darling Basin Authority ( MDBA ) is the principal government agency in charge of managing the Murray–Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The MDBA is an independent statutory agency that manages, in conjunction with the Basin states, the Murray–Darling basin's water resources in the national interest. The MDBA reports to the Australian Government Minister for

204-455: A phytohormone involved in regulating stem growth via its effect on cell division. Photosynthate investment in the stem is reduced dramatically in shorter plants and nutrients become redirected to grain production, amplifying in particular the yield effect of chemical fertilizers. High-yielding varieties outperformed traditional varieties several fold and responded better to the addition of irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizers. Hybrid vigour

306-407: A terrace is a leveled section of a hilly cultivated area, designed as a method of soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid surface runoff of irrigation water. Often such land is formed into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance. The human landscapes of rice cultivation in terraces that follow the natural contours of the escarpments, like contour ploughing , are a classic feature of

408-683: A balance between environmental, economic and social considerations. After the release of the Guide to the Proposed Murray–Darling Basin Plan there were a significant number of protests and voiced concerns in rural towns that the MDBA visited to present the proposed plan at consultation meetings. In Renmark , more than 500 people attended the Authority's first public consultation meeting in the local hotel that accommodated only 250 people. The draft plan proposed water buybacks of up to 35% in

510-451: A minimum 4,000 gigalitres of water returned to the river system but the Group believed that it would not happen under the draft plan. In June 2011, a federal parliamentary committee (chaired by independent Tony Windsor ) delivered its report to MDBA and its recommendations on water cutbacks in the basin. The committee was told river communities faced annihilation if 4,000 gigalitres

612-606: A much more equal and controlled distribution pattern. Drip irrigation is the most expensive and least-used type, but delivers water to plant roots with minimal losses. Water catchment management measures include recharge pits, which capture rainwater and runoff and use it to recharge groundwater supplies. This helps in the replenishment of groundwater wells and eventually reduces soil erosion. Dammed rivers creating reservoirs store water for irrigation and other uses over large areas. Smaller areas sometimes use irrigation ponds or groundwater. In agriculture, systematic weed management

714-476: A paddock, while allowing the others to recover. Resting grazed lands allows the vegetation to renew energy reserves, rebuild shoot systems, and deepen root systems, resulting in long-term maximum biomass production. Pasture systems alone can allow grazers to meet their energy requirements, but rotational grazing is especially effective because grazers thrive on the more tender younger plant stems. Parasites are also left behind to die off, minimizing or eliminating

816-516: A problem because they feed by sucking gravel from the riverbed and taking all the edible material off it, before returning the rest to the water. This stirs up all the sediment, reducing the quality of the water. A project for developing daughterless carp shows promise for eliminating carp from the river system. Cane toads have entered the upper reaches of the Darling Basin and there are several reports of individuals being found further down

918-429: A quarter of the Basin lays in the state, the commission was an advisory body with no authority for enforcement of provisions. For a long time the commission was only concerned with water quantity until salinity became a problem. This led to minor reforms in 1982 in which water quality became part of the commission's responsibilities. However, it was soon recognised that a new organisational structure which considered

1020-521: A regional or national scale, and the functioning of agro-ecosystems has been profoundly altered. Agricultural intensification includes a variety of factors, including the loss of landscape elements, increased farm and field sizes, and increase usage of insecticides and herbicides. The large scale of insecticides and herbicides lead to the rapid developing resistance among pests renders herbicides and insecticides increasingly ineffective. Agrochemicals have may be involved in colony collapse disorder , in which

1122-488: A relatively small area of land, for example by rotational grazing , or sometimes as concentrated animal feeding operations . These methods increase the yields of food and fiber per unit land area compared to those of extensive animal husbandry ; concentrated feed is brought to seldom-moved animals, or, with rotational grazing, the animals are repeatedly moved to fresh forage. Agricultural development in Britain between

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1224-462: A small space poses ethical issues to some consumers. Animal rights and animal welfare activists have charged that intensive animal rearing is cruel to animals. The Green Revolution transformed farming in many developing countries. It spread technologies that had already existed, but had not been widely used outside of industrialized nations. These technologies included "miracle seeds", pesticides, irrigation, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. In

1326-468: A very low biodiversity. Over Christmas 2018 and January 2019 there were two mass deaths of fish in the waters of the Basin, the first numbering 10,000, the second in the hundreds of thousands. Species affected were Murray cod , golden perch , silver perch and bony herring. Some blamed the draining of water from the Menindee Lakes by WaterNSW , with only 2.5% of the original water volume in

1428-529: A water trading scheme across Basin states to increase water use efficiency . In summer 2018–2019, there were substantial fish kill events in the Murray–Darling basin. A report released in January 2019 by the Productivity Commission found that "The MDBA has conflicting roles. It supports basin governments (as their agent) to implement the plan and is also required to ensure compliance with

1530-459: A year to the Basin for use in Australia's irrigated agriculture industry, which is worth about A$ 3 billion per annum, representing more than 40% of the gross value of the nation's agricultural production. The Basin was once home to a large number of Aboriginal people whose traditional lifestyle and cultures were gradually altered by the arrival of Europeans, while others were outright killed by

1632-532: Is a progressive, sustainable agriculture system such as zero waste agriculture or integrated multi-trophic aquaculture , which involves the interactions of multiple species. Elements of this integration can include: Industrial agriculture uses huge amounts of water , energy , and industrial chemicals , increasing pollution in the arable land , usable water , and atmosphere . Herbicides , insecticides , and fertilizers accumulate in ground and surface waters . Industrial agricultural practices are one of

1734-432: Is continuously cropped. Crop rotation also seeks to balance the nutrient demands of various crops to avoid soil nutrient depletion. A traditional component of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of legumes and green manure in sequence with cereals and other crops. Crop rotation can also improve soil structure and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants. A related technique

1836-657: Is hostile to many species of weeds . As the only draft animal species which is comfortable in wetlands , the water buffalo is in widespread use in Asian rice paddies. A recent development in the intensive production of rice is the System of Rice Intensification . Developed in 1983 by the French Jesuit Father Henri de Laulanié in Madagascar , by 2013 the number of smallholder farmers using

1938-441: Is often increased, yields of any single crop often decrease. There are also challenges to farmers who rely on farming equipment optimized for monoculture , often resulting in increased labor inputs. Vertical farming is intensive crop production on a large scale in urban centers, in multi-story, artificially-lit structures, for the production of low-calorie foods like herbs, microgreens , and lettuce. An integrated farming system

2040-530: Is one of the physiographic provinces of the larger East Australian Basins division, and encompasses the smaller Naracoorte Platform and Encounter Shelf physiographic sections. Total water flow in the Murray–Darling Basin 1885 to the present has averaged around 24,000 gigalitres (24,000  hm ; 19,000,000  acre⋅ft ) per year. This is the lowest rate of the world's major river systems. About 6.0 percent of Australia's total rainwater falls into

2142-556: Is the concentration of livestock in a given space. The aim is to provide maximum output at the lowest possible cost and with the greatest level of food safety. The term is often used pejoratively. CAFOs have dramatically increased the production of food from animal husbandry worldwide, both in terms of total food produced and efficiency. Food and water is delivered to the animals, and therapeutic use of antimicrobial agents, vitamin supplements, and growth hormones are often employed. Growth hormones are not used on chickens nor on any animal in

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2244-770: Is the improvement of pasture soils and grasses to increase the food production potential of livestock systems. It is commonly used to reverse pasture degradation , a process characterized by loss of forage and decreased animal carrying capacity which results from overgrazing , poor nutrient management , and lack of soil conservation . This degradation leads to poor pasture soils with decreased fertility and water availability and increased rates of erosion, compaction, and acidification . Degraded pastures have significantly lower productivity and higher carbon footprints compared to intensified pastures. Management practices which improve soil health and consequently grass productivity include irrigation , soil scarification, and

2346-411: Is the modern method to minimize pesticide use to more sustainable levels. There are concerns over the sustainability of industrial agriculture, and the environmental effects of fertilizers and pesticides, which has given rise to the organic movement and has built a market for sustainable intensive farming, as well as funding for the development of appropriate technology . Pasture intensification

2448-493: Is to plant multi-species cover crops between commercial crops. This combines the advantages of intensive farming with continuous cover and polyculture . Crop irrigation accounts for 70% of the world's fresh water use. Flood irrigation , the oldest and most common type, is typically unevenly distributed, as parts of a field may receive excess water in order to deliver sufficient quantities to other parts. Overhead irrigation , using center-pivot or lateral-moving sprinklers, gives

2550-426: Is usually required, often performed by machines such as cultivators or liquid herbicide sprayers. Herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often based on plant hormones . Weed control through herbicide is made more difficult when the weeds become resistant to the herbicide. Solutions include: In agriculture ,

2652-530: Is utilized in many important crops to greatly increase yields for farmers. However, the advantage is lost for the progeny of the F1 hybrids , meaning seeds for annual crops need to be purchased every season, thus increasing costs and profits for farmers. Crop rotation or crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same space in sequential seasons for benefits such as avoiding pathogen and pest buildup that occurs when one species

2754-492: The European Union . Undesirable behaviors often related to the stress of confinement led to a search for docile breeds (e.g., with natural dominant behaviors bred out), physical restraints to stop interaction, such as individual cages for chickens, or physical modification such as the debeaking of chickens to reduce the harm of fighting. The CAFO designation resulted from the 1972 U.S. Federal Clean Water Act , which

2856-711: The Great Dividing Range , it drains southwest into the Great Australian Bight and spans most of the states of New South Wales and Victoria , the Australian Capital Territory , and parts of the states of Queensland (the lower third) and South Australia (the southeastern corner). The Basin is 3,375 kilometres (2,097 mi) in length, with the Murray River being 2,508 km (1,558 mi) long. Most of

2958-536: The Guide to the Proposed Murray–Darling Basin Plan , was released in October 2010 as the first part of a three-stage process to address the problems of the Murray–Darling Basin. The Plan was in response to the 2000s Australian drought , and designed to secure the long-term ecological health of the Murray–Darling Basin. This entailed cutting existing water allocations and tree growth environmental flows . The Basin Plan

3060-609: The Ramsar Convention of Wetlands of International Importance. The rivers listed below comprise the Murray–Darling Basin and its direct significant tributaries, with elevations of their confluence with the downstream river. The tributary with the highest elevation is Swampy Plain River that rises in the Snowy Mountains, below Mount Kosciuszko at an elevation of 2,120 metres (6,960 ft), and ends merging with

3162-618: The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands . The 2007 Act was substantially amended in 2008. The Chief Executive of the MDBA is Andrew McConville who replaced Phillip Glyde and Dr Rhondda Dickson prior. The Chair of the MDBA is Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC (Ret'd) who replaced Neil Andrew after his four-year term as Chair expired in 2019. Whilst the MDBA is a Commonwealth Government agency, an intergovernmental Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council (Ministerial Council) acts in an advisory role in preparing and implementing

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3264-662: The Riverland area, forcing job losses and reduced flows to angry irrigators. Over 5,000 people attended a meeting in Griffith where the local Mayor, Mike Neville, said the plan would "obliterate" Murrumbidgee valley communities. Other groups also echoed this feeling, such as the Victorian Farmers Federation and the Wine Group Growers' Australia. At the same time, there was also support for

3366-985: The carbon balance is the use of integrated crop-livestock (ICL) and crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF) systems, which combine several ecosystems into one optimized agricultural framework. Correctly performed, such production systems are able to create synergies potentially providing benefits to pastures through optimal plant usage, improved feed and fattening rates, increased soil fertility and quality, intensified nutrient cycling , integrated pest control , and improved biodiversity . The introduction of certain legume crops to pastures can increase carbon accumulation and nitrogen fixation in soils, while their digestibility helps animal fattening and reduces methane emissions from enteric fermentation . ICLF systems yield beef cattle productivity up to ten times that of degraded pastures; additional crop production from maize , sorghum , and soybean harvests; and greatly reduced greenhouse gas balances due to forest carbon sequestration. In

3468-649: The tributaries of the Murray River , Australia's longest river , and the Darling River , a right tributary of the Murray and Australia's third-longest river. The Basin, which includes six of Australia's seven longest rivers and covers around one-seventh of the Australian landmass, is one of the country's most significant agricultural areas providing one-third of Australia's food supply. Located west of

3570-585: The waste disposal issue and requires that animal waste be stored in lagoons . These lagoons can be as large as 7.5 acres (30,000 m ). Lagoons not protected with an impermeable liner can leak into groundwater under some conditions, as can runoff from manure used as fertilizer. A lagoon that burst in 1995 released 25 million gallons of nitrous sludge in North Carolina's New River . The spill allegedly killed eight to ten million fish. The large concentration of animals, animal waste, and dead animals in

3672-426: The 1,061,469 km (409,835 sq mi) basin is flat, low-lying and far inland, and receives little direct rainfall. The many rivers it contains tend to be long and slow-flowing, and carry a volume of water that is large only by Australian standards. The Snowy Mountains Scheme provides some security of water flows to the Murray–Darling Basin, providing approximately 2,100 gigalitres (7.4×10 cu ft) of water

3774-522: The 16th century and the mid-19th century saw a massive increase in agricultural productivity and net output. This in turn contributed to unprecedented population growth, freeing up a significant percentage of the workforce, and thereby helped enable the Industrial Revolution . Historians cited enclosure , mechanization , four-field crop rotation , and selective breeding as the most important innovations. Industrial agriculture arose in

3876-480: The 1890s. Currently, 4 major reservoirs, 14 lock and weir structures, and five coastal barrages interject the water flowing down the Murray–Darling. Of the approximately 13,000 gigalitres (13,000 hm ; 10,500,000 acre⋅ft) of flow in the Basin, which studies have shown to be divertible, 11,500 gigalitres (11,500 hm ; 9,320,000 acre⋅ft) are removed for irrigation, industrial use, and domestic supply. Agricultural irrigation accounts for about 95 percent of

3978-403: The 1970s, scientists created high-yielding varieties of maize, wheat , and rice. These have an increased nitrogen-absorbing potential compared to other varieties. Since cereals that absorbed extra nitrogen would typically lodge (fall over) before harvest, semi-dwarfing genes were bred into their genomes. Norin 10 wheat , a variety developed by Orville Vogel from Japanese dwarf wheat varieties,

4080-467: The 2,750 gigalitres of water and to increase groundwater extractions by 2,600 gigalitres at the same time in March 2011. Much of the groundwater is linked to river systems, but the Plan does not count it in the models.: The Plan does not incorporate in the modelling the impact that increasing groundwater extractions by over 2,600GL will have on surface water flows, many of the groundwater systems in

4182-465: The Authority should stick to its original figure. In October 2010, a parliamentary inquiry into the economic impacts of the plan was announced. While, in November 2010, the Authority announced that it might be forced to push back the release of its final plan for the river system until early 2012. Less than one month later, Mike Taylor, then Chair of MDBA, announced his decision to resign effective from

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4284-670: The Basin Plan by the MDBA. The Ministerial Council comprises the Commonwealth Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources (who also chairs the Council) and one minister from each of the Basin states (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia) and the Australian Capital Territory. The Ministerial Council introduced the Murray–Darling Cap in response to the 1995 report titled "An Audit of Water Use in

4386-415: The Basin are linked to river systems. The Plan [also] sets long term diversion limits on the assumption that there is no risk to river health from climate change. In late May 2012, a revision of the plan was forwarded to state water ministers for review. It did not alter the recommendation to return 2,750 gigalitres of water to the environment by cutting water entitlements. Following much negotiation between

4488-474: The Basin, the Murray and Darling, bring water from the high ranges of the east and carry it west then south through long flat and dry inland areas, often resulting in alluvial channel wetlands, such as The (Great) Cumbung Swamp , at the terminus of the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee Rivers. Nevertheless, these waters are subject to major diversions for municipal drinking supplies and irrigated agriculture that began in

4590-463: The Basin. In most years only half of this quantity reaches the sea and in dry years much less. Estimated total annual flows for the Basin have ranged from 5,000 gigalitres (5,000 hm ; 4,100,000 acre⋅ft) in 1902 to 57,000 gigalitres (57,000 hm ; 46,000,000 acre⋅ft) in 1956. Despite the magnitude of the Basin, the hydrology of the streams within it is quite varied. These waters are divided into four types: The two principal rivers of

4692-661: The Commonwealth Government of the day can be seen not to have followed the plain requirements of the Water Act." (p24) Subsequently other requests for an inquiry have been made, following mass fish deaths in the Darling River. Murray-Darling basin The Murray–Darling Basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of

4794-567: The Commonwealth and State governments and numerous submissions from interested stakeholders and the community, the Basin Plan became law in November 2012 and can now be implemented. Intensive farming#Irrigation Most commercial agriculture is intensive in one or more ways. Forms that rely heavily on industrial methods are often called industrial agriculture , which is characterized by technologies designed to increase yield. Techniques include planting multiple crops per year, reducing

4896-551: The Commonwealth and state governments and numerous submissions from interested stakeholders and the community, the Basin Plan finally became law in November 2012. In 2017, after claims that upstream states had not been complying with the Murray–Darling Basin Plan , South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill requested that the Federal Government undertake a judicial enquiry or Royal Commission to determine who

4998-651: The Environment and Water , held since June 2022 by the Hon Tanya Plibersek . The MDBA was established under the Water Act 2007 (Cth) , which was introduced by the Howard government as part of " A National Water Plan for Water Security ". The Water Act 2007 was a response to the drought and the potential effects of climate change in Australia . The law aimed to fulfill Australia's obligations under

5100-537: The Future which has four priorities; namely: The MDBA also commissions research into aquatic science and is a source of information on Australian freshwater biology . Since 1914, there have been various intergovernmental agreements relating to Murray–Darling water resources. Prior to the formation of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, institutional arrangements for water resources management lay with

5202-531: The Gillard Government and following a period of sustained criticism of the Authority and the implementation of the proposed draft Basin plan. He was replaced by former New South Wales Planning Minister, Craig Knowles . In late May 2012, the revised plan was forwarded to state water ministers. It did not alter the recommendation to cut 2,750 gigalitres (2.75 km ; 2,230,000 acre⋅ft) of water entitlements. Following much negotiation between

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5304-593: The Industrial Revolution. By the early 19th century, agricultural techniques, implements, seed stocks, and cultivars had so improved that yield per land unit was many times that seen in the Middle Ages . The first phase involved a continuing process of mechanization. Horse-drawn machinery such as the McCormick reaper revolutionized harvesting, while inventions such as the cotton gin reduced

5406-552: The Murray River, descending 1,860 metres (6,100 ft). The ordering of the Basin, from downstream to upstream, is: The Basin affects five states and territory governments, which according to the Constitution , are responsible for managing water resources. The River Murray Commission was established in 1917. Under the River Murray Waters Agreement , which did not include Queensland though about

5508-553: The Murray–Darling Basin". With the creation of the MDBA in 2008, for the first time, a single intergovernmental body assumed responsibility for planning the integrated management of water resources of the Murray–Darling Basin. In addition to the Commission's former functions, the MDBA's role includes: The Murray–Darling Basin Authority is an integral element of the Australian Government's program Water for

5610-597: The Murray–Darling Ministerial Council on water, land and environmental management in the Basin. The controversial history of water allocation in the Basin and disputes between irrigators and environmentalists dates from the 1960s and is documented in the book, Cottoning on: Stories of Australian Cotton-growing by Siobhán McHugh (Hale and Iremonger 1996), which was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's History Prize in 1997. The Water Amendment Act 2008

5712-498: The Murray–Darling. These structures and irrigation implements were ideal when there was a steady flow of water. However, during "the Big Dry", as the early 2000s drought came to be known, Australian farmers experienced a scarcity unlike ever before. The drought was so severe that numerous rivers and streams such as the Murray–Darling stopped flowing. The Basin contains more than 30,000 wetlands . Eleven of these are protected under

5814-586: The Philippines. They are also found in other rice-growing regions such as Piedmont (Italy), the Camargue (France), and the Artibonite Valley (Haiti). They can occur naturally along rivers or marshes , or can be constructed, even on hillsides. They require large water quantities for irrigation, much of it from flooding. It gives an environment favourable to the strain of rice being grown, and

5916-632: The Twelve Aprils grazing program for dairy production, developed by the USDA - SARE , forage crops for dairy herds are planted into a perennial pasture. Rotational grazing is a variety of foraging in which herds or flocks are regularly and systematically moved to fresh, rested grazing areas (sometimes called paddocks ) to maximize the quality and quantity of forage growth. It can be used with cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and other animals. The herds graze one portion of pasture, or

6018-527: The Victorian Farmers Federation and Wine Group Growers' Australia. Conversely, support for the Murray–Darling Basin plan has been received by various groups, including Australian Conservation Foundation , and Environment Victoria . New legal advice from Commonwealth government lawyers is changing the plan. The Government's interpretation is that the plan must give equal weight to the environmental, social, and economic impacts of proposed cuts to irrigation. Environmentalists and South Australian irrigators, at

6120-504: The Water Act and the objectives of the Authority were compromised. In May 2011, the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists withdrew its support for the Basin Plan, and described the process as seriously flawed and a waste of taxpayers' money. The Wentworth Group said they could not support the Plan which they believed would cost billions and claimed that it would not fix the problems in the river system. The Wentworth Group wanted

6222-582: The application of lime , fertilizers, and pesticides . Depending on the productivity goals of the target agricultural system, more involved restoration projects can be undertaken to replace invasive and under-productive grasses with grass species that are better suited to the soil and climate conditions of the region. These intensified grass systems allow higher stocking rates with faster animal weight gain and reduced time to slaughter, resulting in more productive, carbon-efficient livestock systems. Another technique to optimize yield while maintaining

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6324-426: The association with intensive agricultural farming practices. For example the infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) virus is causing significant economic loss for salmon farms. The ISA virus is an orthomyxovirus with two distinct clades, one European and one North American, that diverged before 1900 (Krossøy et al. 2001). This divergence suggests that an ancestral form of the virus was present in wild salmonids prior to

6426-542: The best scenario for the ecosystems of the basin but "would not be socially or economically viable". The Basin Plan sets and enforces environmentally sustainable limits on the quantities of water that may be taken from Basin water resources . It has Basin-wide environmental, water quality and salinity objectives and aims to develop efficient water trading regimes across the Basin. The plan includes requirements for state water resource plans and aims to improve water security for all Basin users. The Basin Plan aims to achieve

6528-628: The cause to (naturally occurring) hypoxic blackwater . Initial investigations by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) included single water samples at six sites and were criticised as inadequate. Subsequently it was announced that the New South Wales government will treat the deaths as a "pollution incident", thus giving the EPA greater investigative powers; earlier testing

6630-811: The cost of processing. During this same period, farmers began to use steam-powered threshers and tractors . In 1892, the first gasoline-powered tractor was successfully developed, and in 1923, the International Harvester Farmall tractor became the first all-purpose tractor, marking an inflection point in the replacement of draft animals with machines. Mechanical harvesters ( combines ), planters, transplanters, and other equipment were then developed, further revolutionizing agriculture. These inventions increased yields and allowed individual farmers to manage increasingly large farms. The identification of nitrogen , phosphorus , and potassium (NPK) as critical factors in plant growth led to

6732-401: The current status of their population. The study found that there were: Historical records show that the previous abundances of fish provided a reliable food source. The bountiful fish became concentrated when the early stages of a flood left shallow water across the floodplain. Today, roughly 24 native freshwater fish and another 15-25 marine and estuarine species are existent in the Basin,

6834-417: The deterioration of agricultural land and even regenerate soil health and ecosystem services . These developments may fall in the category of organic farming , or the integration of organic and conventional agriculture. Pasture cropping involves planting grain crops directly into grassland without first applying herbicides. The perennial grasses form a living mulch understory to the grain crop, eliminating

6936-641: The draft plan by various groups, including the Australian Conservation Foundation , and Environment Victoria . In legal advice, dated 25 October 2010, from the Australian Government Solicitor , the Government's reading is that the draft plan must give equal weight to the environmental, social and economic impacts of proposed cuts to irrigation. Environmentalists and South Australian irrigators say

7038-590: The end of January 2011. In announcing his resignation, he cited his concerns that the Water Act made it difficult to balance the environmental and socio-economic impacts of cuts to water allocations aimed at rescuing rivers in the basin. Of crucial concern was Taylor's desire to not oversee a process that returned less than 3,000 GL to the basin. Both the Prime Minister , Julia Gillard , and the Water Minister, Tony Burke , rejected Taylor's concerns that

7140-616: The end of the river in South Australia, say that the authority should stick to its original figure. In October 2010, a parliamentary inquiry into the economic impacts of the plan was announced. In late October 2010 the Water Minister, Tony Burke, played down the prospect of a High Court challenge to the Murray–Darling Basin plan, as confusion continued over new legal advice released by the Government. In response to community concerns that MDBA had put environmental issues first over social and economic needs, Burke released new advice on

7242-640: The five State and Territory governments in the Basin, with little co-ordination. In response to this problem, the Murray–Darling Basin Commission was established in January 1988 under the Murray–Darling Basin Agreement, with a charter to efficiently manage and equitably distribute River Murray water resources. Secondly, it was to protect and improve the water quality of the River Murray and its tributaries; and lastly to advise

7344-592: The food supply . The discovery of vitamins and their role in nutrition , in the first two decades of the 20th century, led to vitamin supplements, which in the 1920s allowed some livestock to be raised indoors, reducing their exposure to adverse natural elements. Following World War II synthetic fertilizer use increased rapidly. The discovery of antibiotics and vaccines facilitated raising livestock by reducing diseases. Developments in logistics and refrigeration as well as processing technology made long-distance distribution feasible. Integrated pest management

7446-470: The frequency of fallow years, improving cultivars , mechanised agriculture , controlled by increased and more detailed analysis of growing conditions, including weather, soil , water, weeds, and pests. Modern methods frequently involve increased use of non-biotic inputs, such as fertilizers , plant growth regulators, pesticides , and antibiotics for livestock. Intensive farms are widespread in developed nations and increasingly prevalent worldwide. Most of

7548-466: The individual members of bee colonies disappear. (Agricultural production is highly dependent on bees to pollinate many varieties of fruits and vegetables.) Intensive farming creates conditions for parasite growth and transmission that are vastly different from what parasites encounter in natural host populations, potentially altering selection on a variety of traits such as life-history traits and virulence. Some recent epidemic outbreaks have highlighted

7650-409: The introduction of cage-cultured salmonids. As the virus spread from vertical transmission (parent to offspring) . Intensive monoculture increases the risk of failures due to pests , adverse weather and disease. A study for the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment concluded that regarding industrial agriculture, there is a "negative relationship between the trend toward increasing farm size and

7752-700: The island of Bali and the Banaue Rice Terraces in Banaue, Ifugao , Philippines . In Peru , the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by building drystone walls to create terraces known as Andéns . A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops . Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice-growing countries of east and southeast Asia , including Malaysia, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, India , and

7854-533: The lakes being left; after the first fish kill, both the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and WaterNSW blamed the ongoing drought affecting Australia, while the DPI blamed the second kill on a disruption of an algal bloom caused by a sudden fall in temperature. In March 2023, millions of fish were reported dead along the Darling River at Menindee, following a heatwave. As the cleanup began, police attributed

7956-600: The main drivers of global warming , accounting for 14–28% of net greenhouse gas emissions . Many of the negative effects of industrial agriculture may emerge at some distance from fields and farms. Nitrogen compounds from the Midwest, for example, travel down the Mississippi to degrade coastal fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, causing so-called oceanic dead zones . Many wild plant and animal species have become extinct on

8058-496: The manufacture of synthetic fertilizers , further increasing crop yields . In 1909, the Haber-Bosch method to synthesize ammonium nitrate was first demonstrated. NPK fertilizers stimulated the first concerns about industrial agriculture, due to concerns that they came with side effects such as soil compaction , soil erosion , and declines in overall soil fertility , along with health concerns about toxic chemicals entering

8160-567: The meat, dairy products , eggs , fruits, and vegetables available in supermarkets are produced by such farms. Some intensive farms can use sustainable methods , although this typically necessitates higher inputs of labor or lower yields. Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity , especially on smallholdings , is an important way to decrease the amount of land needed for farming and slow and reverse environmental degradation caused by processes such as deforestation . Intensive animal farming involves large numbers of animals raised on

8262-754: The national perspective was needed for effective management. The Murray–Darling Basin Agreement was first adopted in 1985 but it wasn't until 1993 that its full legal status was enacted. The Agreement led to the creation of a number of new organisations under what is known as the Murray–Darling Basin Initiative. These included the Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council and the Murray–Darling Basin Commission . The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA)

8364-566: The need for de-wormers. With the increased productivity of rotational systems, the animals may need less supplemental feed than in continuous grazing systems. Farmers can therefore increase stocking rates. Intensive livestock farming or "factory farming", is the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density. " Concentrated animal feeding operations " (CAFO), or "intensive livestock operations", can hold large numbers (some up to hundreds of thousands) of cows, hogs, turkeys, or chickens, often indoors. The essence of such farms

8466-768: The need to plant cover crops after harvest . The pasture is intensively grazed both before and after grain production. This intensive system yields equivalent farmer profits (partly from increased livestock forage) while building new topsoil and sequestering up to 33 tons of CO 2 /ha/year. Biointensive agriculture focuses on maximizing efficiency such as per unit area, energy input and water input. Agroforestry combines agriculture and orchard/forestry technologies to create more integrated, diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems. Intercropping can increase yields or reduce inputs and thus represents (potentially sustainable) agricultural intensification. However, while total yield per unit land area

8568-557: The new South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman of the Marshall Ministry asking for an extension, but this was rejected. The report into the Royal Commission was released 29 January 2019. Commissioner Walker was damning of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority's administration. He said that the process of setting sustainable limits to water extraction were "major failure of process", and that "The MDBA and

8670-532: The plan's environmental outcomes. With the release of the Guide to the Proposed Murray–Darling Basin Plan there have been a number of protests and voiced concerns about the plan in rural towns that the MDBA visited to present the plan to consultation meetings. More than 5,000 people attended a MDBA meeting in Griffith where Griffith Mayor, Mike Neville, said the plan would "obliterate" Murrumbidgee valley communities. Other groups also echo this feeling, such as

8772-659: The plan. These conflicts will intensify in the next five years. The MDBA should be split into two separate institutions – the Murray-Darling Basin Agency and the Basin Plan Regulator." On 8 October 2010, the MDBA released a major document entitled the Guide to the Proposed Murray–Darling Basin Plan outlining a plan to secure the long-term ecological health of the Murray–Darling Basin. The guide introduced cutting existing water allocations and increasing environmental flows . The proposed plan

8874-405: The public meeting that more work is being done to look at how the proposed cuts would affect regional communities. He stated: "Importantly, we want to make sure the social and economic impacts—which under any sort of scenario is very significant—were fully teased out". Taylor resigned as he allegedly believed that the overriding principle should be the environmental outcome which was in conflict with

8976-584: The requirements of the Water Act . Burke stated that the Act does allow for the authority to "optimise" the needs of all three areas, but constitutional lawyer, George Williams, had cast doubts over the interpretation of the laws, stating it could be subject to a legal challenge. The MDBA announced in November 2010 that it might be forced to push back the release of its final plan for the river system until early 2012. The then MDBA chairman, Mike Taylor , reassured

9078-591: The settlers. Although some tribes organised resistance, such as the Maraura , whose territory lay around the Rufus River above Renmark and the Tanganekald near The Coorong , they were eventually either killed, exiled, or succumbed to disease. The Murray–Darling Basin is home to many native animal species. The true numbers may not be known, but a fairly confident estimate has been made of these animals and

9180-408: The system had grown to between 4 and 5 million. Aquaculture is the cultivation of the natural products of water ( fish , shellfish , algae , seaweed , and other aquatic organisms). Intensive aquaculture takes place on land using tanks, ponds, or other controlled systems, or in the ocean, using cages. Intensive farming practices which are thought to be sustainable have been developed to slow

9282-454: The system. Cane toads compete with native amphibians and are toxic to native carnivores. Phyla canescens has invaded wetlands and floodplains with heavy clay soils in the Murray–Darling Basin, to the detriment of the native vegetation; the plant does best in habitats that are inundated occasionally, although it cannot compete with the grass Paspalum distichum and the sedge Eleocharis plana in more heavily inundated sites. This area

9384-423: The water removed, including for the growing of rice and cotton . This extraction is highly controversial among scientists in Australia, regarding the agriculture industry's high water use in a region extremely short of water (as much due to exceptionally low run-off coefficients as to low rainfall). These extensive irrigation systems require a reliable supply of water, not the unpredictable flows that characterise

9486-495: Was described as being primarily intended to ensure public safety. Four varieties of carp were used to stock up fish dams. Since then they have made their way into the river systems, where they spread quite quickly. Human introduction, possibly by anglers using small carp illegally as live bait, has also increased their distribution. These fish are very mobile, breed rapidly and can survive in very shallow water and through long periods of very low dissolved oxygen content. Carp are

9588-444: Was designed to set environmentally sustainable limits on the quantities of water that may be taken from Basin water resources , to set Basin-wide environmental, water quality and salinity objectives, to develop efficient water trading regimes across the Basin, to set requirements for state water resource plans and to improve water security for all Basin users. It also intends to minimise social and economic impacts whilst achieving

9690-455: Was enacted to protect and restore lakes and rivers to a "fishable, swimmable" quality. The United States Environmental Protection Agency identified certain animal feeding operations, along with many other types of industry, as "point source" groundwater polluters. These operations were subjected to regulation. In 17 states in the U.S., isolated cases of groundwater contamination were linked to CAFOs. The U.S. federal government acknowledges

9792-626: Was formed in 2008 to manage the Murray–Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The MDBA is responsible for preparing and overseeing a legally-enforceable management plan. In October 2010, MDBA released a draft Murray–Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) for consultation. On 22nd November 2012, Tony Burke signed the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, which passed the Australian Parliament's disallowance period on 19 March 2013. The MDBA's draft Murray–Darling Basin Plan, titled

9894-714: Was instrumental in developing wheat cultivars. IR8 , the first widely implemented high-yielding rice to be developed by the International Rice Research Institute , was created through a cross between an Indonesian variety named "Peta" and a Chinese variety named "Dee Geo Woo Gen". With the availability of molecular genetics in Arabidopsis and rice the mutant genes responsible ( reduced height (rht) , gibberellin insensitive (gai1) and slender rice (slr1) ) have been cloned and identified as cellular signalling components of gibberellic acid ,

9996-515: Was introduced in December 2008 to amend the Water Act 2007 . This law transferred authority from the Murray–Darling Basin Commission to the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, creating an independent, expert -based body that would manage the Basin holistically for the first time. As at November 2016, the MDBA is four years into the implementation phase of the Basin Plan. The MDBA has published major bodies of work, including: The MDBA also established

10098-523: Was returned to the environment. The committee also reported that the health of the river system could be protected without the cuts. The Australian Conservation Foundation said it was disappointed by the report delivered by the inquiry into the Murray–Darling river system. The Foundation believed that buybacks were the most efficient way to save the basin. According to the Wentworth Group, the Commonwealth Government originally planned to start buying

10200-510: Was signed off by Tony Burke , Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities on 22 November 2012, and passed the Australian Parliament on 29 November 2012. The MDBA is responsible for overseeing the legally enforceable management Plan. The main aim of the Basin Plan is to return around 2,750 gigalitres to the river system. The MDBA originally reported that the volume of water as high as 7,600 gigalitres per year would bring long-term sustainability and would be

10302-492: Was the first part of a three-stage process to address the problems of the Murray–Darling Basin; namely, over-allocation, prolonged drought, natural climate variability and climate change, leading to deterioration of rivers, wetlands, forests and floodplains in the basin. The MDBA was responsible for preparing the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, which was released in November 2011. The Plan proposes that 2,750 gigalitres per year be cut from water allocations over seven years. The Plan

10404-435: Was to blame for "water theft" and whether upstream states had been complicit. When the Federal Government rejected the request, Weatherill then launched a South Australian Royal Commission in January 2018 to investigate. The Weatherill Ministry fell in 2019, and then the Federal Government barred Murray Darling Basin Authority officials from giving evidence to the Royal Commission. The Commissioner, Bret Walker SC, also wrote to

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