Water price bursts rice bubble

Temporary water in the Murray is selling for about $280 a megalitre, up from $120/ML this time last year and irrigation water in the Murrum-bidgee is selling for $210/ML.

Water prices softened on the back of increased water allocations last week but many growers aren't committing to the thirsty crop.

Murray Catchment Authority senior land services officer John Fowler, Deniliquin, estimated rice plantings could be down by as much as 80 per cent this year.

"As much as they'd love to support the local rice industry, they've done the sums and they know they can't afford to buy water," Mr Fowler said.

"I've heard of some neighbours pooling the water they have to get a crop between them."

He said many growers around the Deniliquin area had used their existing water to finish winter cereals.

RiceGrowers Association president Jeremy Morton said the state's rice crop would be well down, but not to the extent Mr Fowler estimated.

"Our selling window will be open for at least another month and I expect a number of growers will decide to plant a crop within that time."

In a bid to boost plantings in the Riverina last week, SunRice guaranteed a price of $415 a tonne for medium grain Reiziq and up to $655 a tonne for speciality varieties, including organic medium grain rice, delivered to the 2016 crop rice pool.

SunRice chairman Laurie Arthur said the tight water outlook pushed the announcement.

It had already made a difference, he said.

"We did notice after the announcement we got a boost of people collecting seed and we're are confident our guaranteed price will continue to have an impact on grower numbers over the next month," he said.

Coleambally grower Rodney Foster was swayed by SunRice's guaranteed prices.

"When I heard the prices they were offering I thought I had better put some in," Mr Foster said.

He will plant 38 hectares, down from his usual 380ha.

"We would have put in another 40 hectares if we had enough water but it's just not in the system," he said.

"We've gone big on corn instead."

Mr Foster said a few of his neighbours had turned to cotton to maximise the return on their hefty water investment.

Growing rice this year was off the table for Moulamein grower Robert Glenn, "Edward Park", until he heard about SunRice's deal.

"We're still undecided, but it helps to know that SunRice has extended the offer," he said.

"We can't generate enough money by growing rice but we're passionate about our rice industry and what it does for our local community, so we may let our heart rule our economics."

RiceGrower's Jeremy Morton expected the Sherpa variety to be popular this summer.

"It's a short season variety, so it will use less water than other options. However, Reiziq will be the most popular variety planted," he said.

Rice no dice, cash price too nice at Yenda

IT IS better economics for Yenda grower Eflem Sartor to sell his water than plant a summer crop.

It was "an easy decision" not to plant rice for Mr Sartor, "Farm 500".

"It was much more viable for me to sell my water, which I did a week and a half ago," he said.

"I couldn't see the sense in working over summer for such little profit."

Instead, he will have his first holiday in 35 years.

"I don't know where I'm going or what I'm going to do but I'm very much looking forward to it."

He said some neighbours had committed to planting rice, despite temporary water trading at about $210 a megalitre.

"They must be using a completely different calculator to me," he said.

"Then again, they may have carryover water from last season, which I don't."

Mr Sartor is pictured in last year's Reiziq rice crop, which yielded 12 tonnes to the hectare.

"I was very pleased with it, but it's a completely different scenario this year."

This year Mr Sartor planted 1000 hectares of dryland cereals and was pleased with their development in the lead-up to harvest.

- JESSIE DAVIES