Context evaluation: a profile of irrigator climate knowledge, needs and practices in the northern Murray - Darling Basin to aid development of climate-based decision support tools and information and dissemination of research

Abstract

Understanding client needs, knowledge and practices offers a means of ensuring research outputs match intended audience requirements. This paper shows the initial impact of context evaluation on the development of a suite of decision support tools and information to help irrigators better manage their water resources under different climatic conditions. The context evaluation study involved a survey of ~170 irrigators in the northern Murray�Darling Basin in Australia. It sought to clarify how they make cropping area and water management decisions and their levels of understanding and use of climate information. We found irrigators consult widely on cropping decisions and those with large areas commonly apply the Southern Oscillation Index to property decisions. Respondents demonstrated a reasonably good understanding of climate phenomena in an Southern Oscillation Index knowledge test. Two-thirds use seasonal climate outlook information, but only 20% are very confident to apply climate information to decisions. More than half would find a decision support system (comprising tools and information) useful for cropping decisions. Almost 75% would change their crop area, and 43% their crop type, if given advance information about water availability up to 4 months ahead of irrigation season. About 70% have access to a computer and half to the internet, but two-thirds consider their personal computing skill is only nil or basic. Twenty-three percent of respondents expressed interest in working directly with the research team to interact regarding their requirements, indicating the potential for future participative research activities such as collaborative, on-farm research. The context evaluation facilitated formation of a focus group that cooperated to assess research findings and incorporate improvements to the project�s set of decision support tools. The evaluation was a new experience for the researchers and, albeit an arms-length consultation process, it has broadened our knowledge about our target audience and their preferred ways to access research findings.

Formative evaluation to benchmark and improve climate-based decision support for graziers in Western Queensland

“…The irrigator study found that, as farm irrigation area increases, there was significantly ( P <0.001) higher use of the SOI in property decision making (Keogh et al 2004), compared with the grazier survey where there was no significant relationship.…”

“…Our 43% sample response rate compares favourably with other mail-out surveys to farmers ranging from 6 to 65% that used a variety of methods for selecting their population. A mail survey of 2000 randomly selected farmers in the northern, central and southern tablelands of NSW achieved a 6% response rate (Bayley et al 1994); others surveyed a whole population, that is, all 931 regulated irrigators in the NSW and Queensland sections of the Northern Murray-Darling Basin received an 18.7% response rate (Keogh et al 2000a(Keogh et al , 2000b(Keogh et al , 2004; and all 2000 farmers in the northern wheat belt of NSW, 20% response rate (Hayman and Alston 1999). A purposive sample of selected Queensland graziers achieved a 65% response rate (Paull and Hall 1999).…”

Summative evaluation of climate application activities with pastoralists in western Queensland

“…The decisions made on pastoral properties using either weather or climate forecasts were similar in western Queensland. Third, in the northern Murray-Darling Basin a survey of irrigators in 1999 found 29% used the SOI in farm decisions including choice of crop and area, rate of fertiliser application, harvesting, sowing date, water availability and sales (Keogh et al 2004b). To accurately compare the results from the three studies above with our study, the wording of each question and its interpretation by the respondent should be identical in each case.…”

“…The low knowledge of some climate terms and concepts in the Australian agriculture sector is not a new finding (Coventry 2001;Dalgleish et al 2001;Keogh et al 2004aKeogh et al , 2004bKeogh et al , 2005, but it has not been demonstrated until now that the knowledge of climate terminology is similar between users and non-users of seasonal forecasts. Terms such as median and probability form the basis of many seasonal forecasts and a thorough understanding is important for their correct interpretation and use in decision making.…”

Climate information needs of Gascoyne - Murchison pastoralists: a representative study of the Western Australian grazing industry

“…Fifty-two percent correctly answered that northwest cloudbands are usually most prominent during April to August. Fifty-one percent correctly answered the question that the SOI is likely to be negative in an El Niño year compared to 68% of pastoralists surveyed in western Queensland in 2000 (n=41) and 91% of irrigators in the northern Murray-Darling Basin surveyed in 1999 (n=127) (Keogh et al 2004a(Keogh et al , 2004b. It was found that across the 3 surveys the difference between correct and incorrect responses to this question was highly significant (P<0.001).…”