The truffle farm did not have accurate control of its irrigation pumps. The pumps were running at full capacity when the farm only needed them to run fast enough to deliver the required amount of water.

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The farm installed variable speed irrigation pumps in place of its direct on-line set speed pumps. They also changed out an old inefficient pump.

Irrigation pumps installed at Margaret River Truffle Farm

Accessing the grant

Margaret River Truffle Farm owner, Ben Warner, said he was notified about the grant through the Grant Connect portal.

‘Some grants require an outlay just to apply in the form of an application writer. This grant did not so we were able to afford putting our proposal forward,’ Ben said.

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The farm’s orchard is now being watered more accurately. Water leaks have been identified and fixed with more water pressure now available for when it is needed.

Being able to increase and decrease the amount of pressure means the farm can water larger sections faster, allowing the water to be absorbed overnight.

Ben said they are very satisfied with results from the upgrade.

‘At first we did not see the result we had anticipated due to the extra watering required because of the extreme dry summer we just had but the outcomes have since become realised.

‘Our power consumption has decreased by 11% on average so far over the two billing periods we have seen outside of the exceptionally dry conditions.

‘We have already researched and applied for funding for a swale dam constructed at the top of our orchard so that seepage runs down through the orchard,’ Ben said.

Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Grants and funding

Equipment guides