NESP TWQ Project 3.1.2: Irrigation and Water Quality Data for Sugarcane Farming, 2017-2019

Project 3.1.2 of the NESP Tropical Water Quality Hub focuses on improving water quality for the Great Barrier Reef and wetlands by managing irrigation in sugarcane farming. The project developed an automated irrigation system controlled by feedback from the IrrigWeb decision support tool, which provides paddock-specific schedules. Data from 2017 to 2019 was aggregated by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling optimal irrigation schedules based on climate, soil, and management regime data mentioned in the description
• Analyzing the relationship between automated irrigation deployment and water quality targets for the Burdekin region
• Assessing the effectiveness of technology pathways for meeting 2025 water quality improvement goals

Strengths

• Project is part of a targeted national environmental science program (NESP TWQ).
• Focuses on a specific, high-impact agricultural system (sugarcane) and ecosystem (Great Barrier Reef).
• Data was last updated on 2026-07-13, suggesting ongoing metadata management.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Available file formats (PNG, HTML) suggest the primary data may be reports or images rather than structured data tables.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Likely contains data from an automated irrigation system controlled by the IrrigWeb decision support tool, developed in partnership with industry, extension, NRM, research, and government organizations.

Time Range

2017-2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 19:22:22.306798; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef region, specifically areas involving sugarcane farming, likely including the Burdekin catchment.