Awards & Prizes
2010 Sustainable Irrigation / IAL $10,000 Travel Fellowship Award
MacLean-Iedema Award
The industry lost two of its leading lights when Scott MacLean and Don Iedema were killed in a light plane crash in Victoria in 1995. To recognise MacLean and Iedema IAL and event organisers ETF (Exhibitions & Trade Fairs) instigated an award and cash prize which is presented every two years at Irrigation Australia's National Conference, with the winner receiving a special commemorative plaque from IAL and a cash prize donated by ETF. Nominations for the 2010 award are now open. Applications close on Friday 30 April 2010.
The history of the award and the nomination form can be downloaded at left.
The award recognises an outstanding individual who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the irrigation industry, or a sector of the industry. The criteria for the award include:
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Commitment – An outstanding record of commitment to the development of their industry.
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Contribution – The recipient will be judged to have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the industry. (This contribution may be evaluated in quantitative and/or qualitative terms.)
- Performance – The performance of the individual should be deemed exceptional.
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Persistence – The performance will have been sustained over an extended period of time.
2009 Sustainable Irrigation / IAL $10,000 Travel Fellowship Award
Relationships between irrigation practices, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions will be further investigated by Irrigation Australia Ltd travel fellowship winner Tamara Jackson.
The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation provides $10,000 each year to support the fellowship. This year’s winner was announced at the recent annual conference of Irrigation Australia Ltd, held in Swan Hill.
Although she was raised on a sheep and cattle property in pastoral country at Wilcannia, without irrigation, she was introduced to modern irrigation systems applied to stonefruits, grapes and other crops when working at the Tandou holdings at Menindie. This experience encouraged her to take up tertiary studies at Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga, where she is currently employed at the university’s International Centre of Water for Food Security.
Recently a PhD in Applied Hydrology was completed, involving a study of water use, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission relationships for different irrigation systems, and the influence of uncertainty surrounding water supplies. It put Tamara in contact with a large number of irrigators and a complexity of influences on production plans and irrigation technologies.
“Looking at irrigation in more than water use terms reveals why changes are made or not made,” she said.
“Changing from gravity-fed to a pressurised drip irrigation system, for example, could mean water savings but a big leap in energy costs. Other considerations might include uncertainty about water allocations or how to get best value from the limited water available.”
She said it was forward-thinking for the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation to support not only research into aspects like water, plant and soil interactions and application technologies, but also to take an interest in the human dimension. This had become vital with the growing impact of policy on farm management and the need for good knowledge and leadership as climate change and water scarcity increased in importance.
“The fellowship will allow me to meet leading researchers working on the energy-water-emissions nexus in irrigated agriculture and will extend my network of industry contacts,” she said. “I also intend meeting irrigators in other countries to gain an understanding of influences on their practices and to share ideas.”
Among countries to be visited when the fellowship is taken up next February and March are the United States, Turkey and Israel.
Irrigation Photo Competition 2010
The finalists in the Irrigation Photo Competition 2010 were displayed at the Irrigation Australia 2010 Conference & Exhibition.
The winners in the respective categories are as follows -