INTRODUCTION NEWSLETTER by Sam Stacey     During the last week in July I took over Craig Baillie's role as project officer for the Rural Water Use Efficiency Initiative in Bundaberg. In the coming year I am looking forward to meeting with as many of the local growers as possible through the activities that Sandra Dennis and I will be running.  The grower demonstration sites and Irrigation Smoko's will commence later this year, and we encourage all growers in the district to

attend. Please raise issues that you would like to discuss, we want the Smoko's to reflect the needs and interests of local growers.

In a new project we hope to identify how much effective rainfall is lost because of soil compaction. This is particularly relevant in Bundaberg, South Kolan and Gin Gin where irrigation allocations are low and rainfall drives crop growth.

Other ongoing projects include developing farm maps that can be used for Land and Water Management Plans, RWUE Financial Incentives, the Soil Moisture road-signs and field trials with CSIRO to determine the best time to use limited irrigation water.

During the last two years I have been employed as an Irrigation Agronomist on Bundaberg Sugar's farms. I have been involved with CRC trickle irrigation trials being used to assess the positive effects of shallow watertables on cane growth and to assess improvements to nitrogen efficiency under trickle irrigation. Some of my other roles have included irrigation monitoring and fine-tuning irrigation practices to improve water use efficiency at specific farm sites.

I look forward to getting to know you all throughout the year.