Water savings a winner for rice grower of the year

A company best known for its wine production now lays claim to being the best rice grower in the country. 

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Farm manager Darrell Fiddler from DeBortoli Wines in the Riverina has been awarded SunRice grower of the year

Winners of the highest yield award were Nathan and Kylie Ceccato from Yenda, for their 13.9 tonne a hectare crop

David Brain from Coleambally was recognised for his ongoing contribution to the Australian rice industry

Darrell Fiddler, who is the farm manager for DeBortoli Wines, at Bilbul near Griffith in the NSW Riverina, was named SunRice grower of the year at the Rice Industry Awards.

Mr Fiddler was recognised for his strong focus on water use efficiency, technology adoption, and implementation of the latest research, development and extension. 

Mr Fiddler was involved with an aerobic rice trial with Deakin University, which involved automation and moisture monitoring to optimise water use efficiency.

"Aerobic-grown rice is different to a traditional rice growing system because the crop is never ponded throughout its growing season, it is just flushed when it requires moisture," he said.

Banking on another bumper crop

Mr Fiddler has been growing rice for DeBortoli Wines for 12 years and last season they grew 300 hectares of rice at the Bilbul farm. 

"It was a challenging season as it was one of the coldest seasons in 20 years, but overall we were very pleased with the crop yields," he said. 

Mr Fiddler attributed the operation's strong yields, productivity, and sustainability to improved agronomy practices.

"These include variable rate fertiliser application, sod sowing and minimal tillage, double or triple cropping, and implementing a rotation including wheat and other summer crops," he said.

“Using permanent tracks for spraying and spreading of fertiliser means that we can be really timely and efficient."

The Murrumbidgee currently has a general security allocation of 50 per cent and, with rice planting looming, Mr Fiddler hoped to grow at least another 300 hectares of rice this season. 

"Hopefully we can get an improvement on our water allocations and get some rice back in the sheds for SunRice," he said. 

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Making every drop count

Rice extension officer Harriet Brickhill said Mr Fiddler's innovative approach to farming and a commitment to sustainability caught the judges’ attention.

"He grows rice as part of a rotation with other irrigated summer crops and winter cereals and has demonstrated a strong focus on improving his water productivity through management having successfully automated the irrigation for a Viand rice crop," Ms Brickhill said. 

Mr Fiddler said in his years growing rice the biggest change he had witnessed was water use efficiency.

"It's all about tonnes per megalitre these days, that's what's been our driving focus for the past decade," he said. 

Looking ahead, Mr Fiddler said there was a future for rice production in the Riverina. 

"As long as we get strong water allocations, rice is a beneficial crop to grow and it has a lot of good attributes," he said. 

Kylie and Nathan Ceccato from Yenda in the Riverina were winners of the highest yield award, pictured with David Bardos from award sponsor Port of Melbourne.(

Supplied: Rice Extension

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Winners of the highest yield were Nathan and Kylie Ceccato from Yenda, who took out the award with a yield of 13.95 tonnes a hectare for their Reiziq rice crop. 

Their yield represents a lift of 18 per cent over the long-term average for the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.

The Ricegrowers' Association of Australia honorary councillor award was presented to David Brain from Coleambally for his ongoing contribution to the Australian rice industry.

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