Dam Ea$y - a framework for assessing the costs and benefits of on-farm water storage based sugarcane production systems

Sugar farmers in many districts are considering on-farm water storage (OFWS) structures as a means of countering ongoing water shortages. The decision to invest in such storages is complex and multi-facetted, requiring assessment of a range of biophysical, economic, legislative and social factors. Computer-based simulation models can capture many of these factors and their interactions and, hence, can play a useful decision support role. In this paper, we describe a prototype software package (Dam Ea$y) that couples biophysical and economic modelling tools, in a way that enables analysis of the likely costs and benefits of various scenarios involving investment in OFWSs. The paper includes a case study in which the implications of investing in different sized OFWSs are considered for a representative Bundaberg sugarcane farm, currently operating with access to a small scheme allocation and out of allocation water.