The RANGE (Regional Accelerator & New Growth Engine)’s Post

We turn on the tap, water flows.     For those outside the water industry, there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye.     Water policy took centre stage at the recent lunch event organised by the Rural Press Club of Queensland. Since 2020, the federal government’s push to deliver on the Basin Plan has significantly impacted the local agricultural landscape.     Our Executive Director, Mark Steinhardt attended the event and emerged with some key takeaways that highlight the current challenges and opportunities:    💧 It's a balancing act: Water is a finite (and some would say diminishing) resource, and stakeholders from all sides have competing interests. Finding a solution that works for everyone is no easy feat.    💧Market currents are shifting: The good news is, the water market is evolving! This creates opportunities for buyers and sellers. Landowners can now tap into new ways to monetise their assets and manage cash flow volatility.  💧M&A is likely to play a role: With increasing opportunities to monetise water assets and a need for innovation, capital markets will play an important role in addressing the needs of the industry.    InterFinancial has worked with a number of clients in the water services, food and agricultural industries. If you’re interested to understand more, please reach out to Mark Steinhardt.     Special thanks to the Rural Press Club of Queensland for hosting this event and our clients from Hall & Wilcox, Agrimix, McMahon Clarke, Osmoflo, Concept Tanks, BeneTerra, Brent Finlay from Finlay Agricultural Industries, and Chris Hood from Watco East West.   #AchieveMore #Waterpolicy #Agribusiness 

Ensuring a better future for your farm is fundamental to avoiding risks that could significantly impact the success of your farm business. Our expert planners are on hand to help with a wide range of financial considerations, including: - Succession Planning - Tax planning - Cashflow Budgeting - Debt Management - Off-farm investments - Emergency Funding - Off-farm Investments - Superannuation - Estate Planning During our Farm Business Success Program, we’ll work alongside you to destroy your debt and highlight opportunities for growth, so that you’re better placed to benefit from a brighter, more manageable financial future. To find out more about our Farm Business Success Program, go to www.lifesolver.com.au #Lifesolverfinancial #lifesolver #farmbusinesssuccess #farmersnsw #farmersaustralia #agriculturensw #agriculture #farming #farmingaustralia

The effects of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) on farmland with zero access to surface water were recently highlighted in AG Alert, which shared facts and insights from landowners across the Central Valley. The article discussed how SGMA has impacted the value of their properties and the yields of their crops. "In 2014, when SGMA was adopted, the value of farmland without reliable surface water access began to decline. But within the past several months, those values have plummeted, according to appraisers, realtors and county assessors." https://lnkd.in/gtg43qTt

As summer winds down and harvest season ramps up, we’re reminded of our shared commitment with our host-landowners to be responsible stewards of Alberta’s valuable agricultural lands.   At Versorium, we work closely with host-landowners from the early stages of facility development through construction and operations. Together, we work to reduce disruptions to farming and agricultural activities, often adjusting facility locations to maximize agricultural land use and minimize land fragmentation.   With a small facility footprint, we’re able to limit environmental impacts while preserving Alberta’s prime agricultural land.   We believe it is our responsibility and obligation to contribute to the future well-being of our province. We’re proud to contribute not only to a sustainable electricity grid but also to the protection of these lands for future generations.   #versoriumenergy #versorium #smartenergy #seethetransition #energytransition #distributedenergyresources #powergeneration #abenergy #albertaelectricity #sustainability #agriculture #landstewardship #partnerships

NEWS: After months of negotiations, Idaho farmers reach new long-term water agreement. Idaho’s new water mitigation breaks water allotments into four-year increments and requires farmers to conserve water. "The new water agreement gives groundwater users their #waterallotment in four-year increments, instead of handling things one year at a time. That allows farmers to plan out and manage their own water usage... The new agreement also calls for #groundwater districts to conserve a minimum of 205,000 acre-feet of water annually. An acre-foot is a unit of volume that measures the amount of water it would take to cover an acre of land in water one foot deep. For comparison, an acre is slightly smaller than the size of a football field." Read more: https://lnkd.in/e5GiDsfU #agriculture #agwater #agenvironmental

Access to water will become more and more crucial going forward, but how should water supply/ownership be "regulated"? So many stakeholders (households, agriculture, industry etc.) and all kinds of water supply scenarios playing out around the world. It does not help that many people even move to regions with more or less no sustainable water supply at all. Kind of scary to think about how this will/could/should play out.

Want to create a better future for your farm? With the Farm Business Success Program, Matt will be on hand to help with a wide range of complex financial considerations, including: - Succession Planning - Tax planning - Cashflow Budgeting - Debt Management - Off-farm investments Working alongside you to destroy your debt, we’ll help highlight opportunities for growth so that you’ll be better placed to benefit from a brighter, more manageable financial future. To book a call, please direct message me. #Lifesolverfinancial #lifesolver #farmbusinesssuccess #farmersnsw #farmersaustralia #agriculturensw #agriculture #farming #farmingaustralia

In the week of June 10th, 2024, the agricultural industry and water supply in the state of Idaho were prominent in the news. The Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) placed red tags on many ground water wells in Eastern Idaho, instructing farmers to stop pumping groundwater. According to the Idaho Department of Water Resources, red tags were issued due to the risk that junior water rights users in Bonneville, Bingham, Jefferson, and Clark counties' usage would impact the water rights of senior water rights users by creating a water shortage of 74,100 acre-feet in the Twin Falls Canal Company. This decision led to concerns among certain farmers about having enough water to irrigate their crops. The order to curtail pumping was issued because water rights users in several Idaho counties had not complied with the state's groundwater mitigation plans. The last agreement was drafted in 2016. At AGPROfessionals, we know how important access to water is to our clients, whether they are utilizing surface or groundwater. We have experience with very similar circumstances from Colorado in 2002-2010. We will continue to stay apprised of the situation in Idaho and with our office located in Twin Falls, we can offer our engineering, environmental, and compliance consulting services to those who may need them. Link to full article and references: https://lnkd.in/gP_hPASA

For agriculture, water is a critical, if not the most important issue. Did you know that the scale of US agricultural water use is massive, over 75 billion gallons per day (2018)? But the key question is whether that number has a basis in fact? This recent article on California stepping up regulation of ground water users, has an interesting description of certain areas' "probation". They have to pay $20/acre-ft (over 200 X LESS than most residential users) for their water and they have to meter their usage. However, the key question is those areas not on probation - what do they measure and pay? There are decades, maybe over a century of water use history, but it's odd that for such a critical substance we are not even measuring the usage. Back to the question, without meters, how much water is really being used by agriculture? Check out this article to learn more about California's crackdown on farms guzzling groundwater. #agriculture #wateruse #California #groundwater #regulation

Examples of Flemish water quality improvement efforts: initiatives led by the Provincial Research and Training Centre for Agriculture (PVL) and the non-profit organization Boer en Natuur (Farmer and Nature). (1) A constructed wetland in Bocholt A constructed wetland initiative exemplified in Bocholt. Despite persistent high nitrate levels exceeding 50 mg/L in surface water, measures implemented so far were insufficient. Thus, a project was launched to assess constructed wetlands as an alternative for nitrate reduction. Challenges included high land costs, but a farmer offered a downsized plot downstream. Completed last summer, the wetland includes controlled inflows and outflows with specific vegetation. Initial flooding during a wet winter prompted monitoring to evaluate nitrate removal effectiveness. Results will guide persuading more farmers to adopt similar wetlands for improved water quality management.