Northern Tasmania's agricultural sector is set to receive a boost after one of the state's largest-ever irrigation projects reached a significant milestone in its progression this week.
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The Tamar Irrigation Scheme's preferred option design was launched on Wednesday, and is the sixth of the project's 11 steps, culminating in water delivery commencement in 2025.
Tasmanian Irrigation chief executive Andrew Kneebone said the project would deliver 24,500 megalitres of high-surety irrigation water to the Tamar Valley.
He said the state-owned company initially planned for the project to distribute a third of that volume.
"We've received expressions of interest from about 200 farmers so far," he said.
"That's part of the reason we've gone for a much more expanded scheme."
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Mr Kneebone said Tasmanian Irrigation had been planning the project for about two years, during which time more than 10 options had been considered.
The $290 million scheme, consisting of federal, state, and private funding, is set to incorporate 240 kilometres of pipeline, as well as five pump stations. That infrastructure is expected to service an area of 89,000 hectares spanning Westwood, Legana, Beaconsfield, Rowella, Hillwood, Pipers River, Lilydale, and Pipers Brook. The water will be sourced from the Trevallyn Dam.
Primary Industries and Water minister Guy Barnett said the project would generate about 411 full-time jobs and 205 indirect jobs, while providing $589 million to the economy over several years.
Beef producer, Landfall Angus, has owned and operated a farm on the eastern banks of the Tamar River since 1876. Co-owner Ed Archer credited a significant increase in the company's productivity to investing in irrigation 25 years ago.
"It's enabled us to get our product into a range of markets that we otherwise would not have been able to access," he said.
Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association president, Marcus McShane, said the TFGA would lobby for further irrigation investment leading into the upcoming federal election.
Last financial year, Tasmania's agriculture production increased 13 per cent, a stark contrast to the national average of 0.4 per cent.
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