IRRIGATORS are rejigging vital watering plans after Goulburn Murray Water hit them with rationing from next week.
Farmers in the Calivil, Dingee and Boort districts will be hit with 10-day cycle rations ahead of projected peak autumn demand for water out of local channels.
Dingee’s Keith Lawry said a great danger would be if rationing was severe when  the vital second watering of autumn crops were needed.
“There’s the strike watering and then the growth watering eight days later,” he said.
“Depending on how long rationing lasts, this could effect things through to next spring.”
Mr Lawry said his family farm, that includes son Michael and grandson Jacob,  had switched from perennial to annual crops on the advice of agronomists to improve water efficiency.
“It could mean we will not be able to start many autumn crops,” he said.
The six-decade veteran of the dairy industry said: ”We have to try and make the best of it. We don’t have a choice to a point.”
Mr Lawry said summer fodder crops should have first preference for any available water and that rationing be administered equally by Goulburn Murray Water. “We are at the very end of the Waranga system,” he said.
He said that while summer crops were close to maturing, there were some paddocks in the district that required a final watering.
“Of course, everything could change with a decent rain.”
Michael Hocking said he had been trying to order irrigation water to avoid reduced yield of his maize crop expected to be harvested late next month.
“There will be an impact on the grain yield if we can’t get water before March 1,” Mr Hosking said.
“For our maize, getting this last water will be the most important.”
Mr Hocking was also critical of GMW for  what he said was little communication before last Friday’s announcement of rationing.
“I got a text message last week and an email this morning,” he said.
The 10-day ration cycle comes as agronomists told farmers at a VFF forum in St Arnaud this month that orders for fertilisers used in production were now having to be made at least six months before they would be used.
Members of the Loddon Valley water services committee were due to meet GMW yesterday morning with concerns about the ration decision process expected to be raised.