Our mission is to enhance wildlife outcomes from the surrogate wetlands that a rice farming system provides.

The Water For Wildlife & Rice project is a collaborative farming program that combines regional farming know-how with water supporters and owners of agricultural land to produce food and fibre in conjunction with the provision of ecosystem services. Water For Wildlife & Rice farming achieves triple bottom line outcomes by producing ecological and socio-economic benefits, a win – win for nature and production.

Project Overview

Team and Organisations

The initiative is a collaboration between the Ricegrowers Association of Australia, Western Murray Land Improvement Group and Farming Together.

Wildlife Benefits

• Water provides flow on ecological benefits in the agricultural on-farm environmental assets,
  such as black box depressions, ephemeral creek lines and lignum based ecological
  communities will benefit from water in the landscape. The areas high up in the floodplain
  are mostly disconnected from the once intermittent flood regime due to the construction of
  flood protection levees.

• On-farm wetlands such as reuse systems, dams, channels and irrigated crops and fodder
  support a host species such as the Eastern Long-necked Turtle, Southern Bell Frog, Little
  Bittern, Royal Spoonbills, Water Rats, Australasian Bittern and Painted Snipe.

• Farms support a host of rare and unusual species not necessarily suited to areas targeted for
  environmental water delivery in the low to mid floodplain.