As the long-awaited Floodplain Harvesting Compliance program begins to roll out, we at Goanna Ag have been ramping up for this program for the past 6 months. We now have a clear understanding of the processes we need to follow to deliver you a complying solution on storages that fall under the regulations.
Here's an overview of what's required and how we can help you achieve compliance.
There are approximately 1,100 storages in the northern NSW Murray Darling basin that require compliance under the new regulations for growers to participate in Floodplain Harvesting. Compliance involves the installation of an approved ‘primary’ and separate approved ‘secondary’ monitoring device by a Duly Qualified Person (DQP).
In addition, an up-to-date storage survey (including benchmarks and storage curves) needs to be submitted by a Registered Surveyor. Your various approvals and relevant data will be stored and managed on the Department’s portal, known as the ‘DAS’.
Why choose Goanna Ag
Goanna Ag can assist you in achieving compliance by supplying approved primary and secondary devices. Additionally, we have a team of DQP’s who can provide approved installation and uploading of those devices.
Industry knowledge
We have over 20 years’ experience providing agricultural products and services to help Australian farmers improve their operations and achieve their goals.
Trustworthy
We have been building trust with our clients for many years and will give you the confidence that your needs will be addressed by knowledgeable and competent professionals.
Product expertise
Our extensive experience in the agricultural industry means we not only deliver high-quality products but we also provide valuable insights to our clients.
Consistent
We deliver the same level of service every time, with a focus on timely communication to answer questions, address concerns, and ensure overall customer satisfaction.
Goanna Ag’s FPH approved devices
The rollout of devices to comply with Floodplain Harvesting compliance is now underway across the northern NSW Murray Darling Basin. We have reviewed the options of approved devices and we would like to share with you the technical details with regard to our approved primary FPH device.
From a hardware perspective, there are two components that combine to create an approved device, namely the telemetry and sensor unit.
Primary device
Telemetry unit
Referred to in the regulations as a Local Intelligence Device (LID), this unit serves to capture and transmit your storage data directly to the NSW Government portal (known as the DAS). We have chosen to support Novecom’s Synaptix LID.
Novecom have been building and supporting their telemetry solutions for over 15 years, primarily in the mining sector. They come to the Ag sector with a strong reputation and proven performance in working in harsh and remote environments. The process of achieving approval under the FPH regulations is a challenging one and further demonstrates their commitment to quality build and support of their device.
For those of you interested in technical detail, the Synaptix LID integrates with the sensor through SDi-12 interface, it comes with solar capacity and leaves their manufacturing site rigorously tested and ready for us to connect to the approved sensor.
Synaptix Primary LID
Sensor unit
In addition to an approved LID, we then need to add an approved sensor unit. Again, there were a number of options for us to choose from. Selecting the Vegapuls was a relatively simple decision for us, given we have a long history of working with Vega and have installed hundreds of their sensors over the years.
Vega are a German based technology company, with a strong Australian presence, that have been providing quality sensor solutions for over 60 years. Their reputation, fully supported by our previous experience with them, gives us full confidence in their sensor quality, precision and robustness.
Depending on your storage detail, there are a couple of Vega options, however, our primary device will use their Vegapuls C21 model. Using radar technology, this model has a measuring range of up to 15 metres, with +/- 2mm precision.
Vegapuls Radar Sensor
Secondary device
Our approved secondary device is GoStorage, which uses our popular ‘yellow box’ telemetry unit combined with another of the Vega range, the Vegapuls C11.
Apart from providing you with compliance, GoStorage also provides you with real time data (via the Goanna App) on your storage levels for your day-to-day management. You can clearly see what water is being used, pumped and evaporated, it accurately records how much water is in storages and channels and can greatly improve your water use efficiency.
IMPORTANT: If you have an existing GoStorage device, you may require an upgrade to ensure it meets compliance requirements.
Other key details
Timeframes
Deadlines to achieve compliance vary between valleys, but in a general sense, you will have 12 months to become fully compliant, starting from the nominated date for your valley. It is important to note that the regulations allow you to take advantage of a Floodplain Harvesting event in that first 12 months, provided you have at least an appropriately installed secondary device uploaded into the DAS platform.
With the number of storages requiring a complying solution and the time available to achieve that deadline, we encourage you to get the process underway as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary and frustrating delays as the deadline approaches.
The ordering process
To begin this process, we need to have a quick discussion with you to fully understand your requirements. We will then provide you with a quote for your approval. Once you have approved our quote, we will then need you to complete a checklist form (you can get this from your Commercial Manager). Please note, this checklist applies to each of your storages. We understand this will be a time-consuming exercise for you, but it is critical we get complete and correct information from the outset to avoid any errors or delays as we work towards compliance. We need all this information before we can confirm your order.
Once you have provided us with your completed checklists, we will then confirm your order, provide you with an expected installation timeframe, and raise an invoice based on a 50% deposit. Once we have completed the installation works and uploaded the relevant data into DAS on your behalf, we will then raise an invoice for the remaining 50%. In instances where we partially complete works, such as installing a complying secondary device, but a primary device will be installed at a later date, we will only invoice you for those completed works.
Storage survey data
We can use the existing Storage Curve data, but we recommend that you engage an appropriately qualified surveyor to ensure you have current information on a storage-specific basis. The ‘default’ storage data is generally from 2008-14, and we expect that in many cases this will be inaccurate to one degree or another. Under the regulations, there is a tolerance of +/- 5%, and it is ultimately your responsibility to ensure your data is within that tolerance.
Need more info?
Your regional Goanna Ag Commercial Manager can answer most of your queries. However, we have also appointed Tom Jakins as our dedicated Floodplain Harvesting Project Manager to oversee this project, and we encourage you to contact him.
Phone: (07) 4671 3790 | Email: sales@goannaag.com.au
We look forward to working with you to ensure you’re Floodplain Harvest compliant!
