irrigation · irrigation benchmarking comparing performance to improve water efficiency, value, and...

IrrigationbenchmarkingComparing performance to improve waterefficiency, value, and productivity

Designed�&�produced�by�Visualidentity.co.uk��Printed�by�Taylor�Bloxham�Leicester�who�have�achieved�the�environmental

standard�ISO�14001.�Printed�on�9�Lives�80�Silk,�Totally�Chlorine-free,�80%�recycled,�60%�post�consumer�waste.

This publication forms part of a project funded by Defra (WU0122). Theproject was undertaken by Cranfield University with support from UKIrrigation Association (UKIA), East Malling Research (EMR), MartinBurton (Independent consultant), Prospect Management Services (PMS)and Hector Malano (University of Melbourne)

The authors of this publication – Jerry Knox and Melvyn Kay wish tomake it clear that the content of this publication and the viewsexpressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent theviews or policies of the organisations involved in the project.

This booklet should be referenced as: Knox, J.W., Daccache, A., Kay,M.G., Hess, T.M., Else, M., Burton, M., Thelwall, D., and Malano, H.(2013). Irrigation benchmarking - comparing performance to improvewater efficiency, value and productivity. An information bookletproduced for Defra, Cranfield University.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Defra for their funding support, and thefollowing for providing data and technical inputs into the project:Richard Solari and the Shropshire Group of potato growers, McCainFoods (Jeff Beaver, Richard Mussett, Andy Goodwin and the DarringtonGrower Group), Greenvale (James Lee and its Shropshire growers);Branston (David Nelson and its Lincoln based growers); Isobel Wright(University of Lincoln); and the Potato Council (PCL).

Note: This booklet is for information purposes only. All informationcontained in this booklet is copyright (2013).

Always seek independent professional advice when considering anyirrigation investments in relation to the information provided in thisbooklet.

Further information:

Booklet produced by:

Cranfield Water Science InstituteCranfield�University

Cranfield

Bedfordshire�MK43�0AL

T: 01234�758365W: www.cranfield.ac.uk

Copies of this booklet can also be downloaded from the from the UK Irrigation Association (UKIA) website. www.ukia.org

Jerry KnoxCranfield�Water�Science�Institute

Cranfield�University

Cranfield


T: �01234�758365E: �[email protected]: http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/sas/

aboutus/staff/knoxj.html

Melvyn KayUK�Irrigation�Association

c/o�Moorland�House

10�Hayway,�Rushden�

Northants�NN10�6AG

T: 01427�717627E: ��[email protected]: �www.ukia.org

Tim HessCranfield�Water�Science�Institute


Cranfield


T: 01234�750111�ext.2763E: ��[email protected]: http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/sas/

aboutus/staff/hesst.html

Andre DaccacheCranfield�Water�Science�Institute


Cranfield


T: �01234�750111�ext.5572E: �[email protected]: http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/sas/

aboutus/staff/daccachea.html

Benchmarking is…Concerns regarding water supplies for agriculture coupledwith rising energy and labour costs, mean thatbenchmarking could be a useful and practical tool to helpyou increase your water productivity and profitability, whilstminimising your environmental footprint – especially waterand carbon.

Benchmarking is widely used in industry and also inagribusiness principally to control production costs. Butexperience in other countries, such as Australia and Spain,has shown that growers can significantly improve theirirrigation efficiency by measuring their performance, not tosome fixed standard, but rather comparing themselveswith the performance of their peers.

It can help you answer key questions such as:• How well am I performing now compared to others?• Can I perform better? – reduce costs, reduce water

usage, increase profitability?• How do I do it? – change/improve infrastructure,

improve soil water management, adopt best industrypractices?

Typical irrigation benchmark indicators relate to irrigationabstraction volumes and application depths, cropproduction, business processes, and environmentalimpact.

What is benchmarking?

Benchmarking helps you to identify theperformance gap – how well you are doingcompared with others growing similar cropsunder similar conditions. It will also help youto identify ways of improving yourperformance.

“Benchmarking can be a verypowerful agent for change –there is little greatermotivation than peerpressure, and benchmarkingcan provide plenty of that.”

The ‘triple bottom line’ in AustraliaOver 75% of irrigation water service providers regularly usebenchmarking to measure the industry’s performance in –economics, environment, and social issues — the ‘triplebottom line’.

The figure shows how 6 grape irrigators used widely differentamounts of water in 2002 but by 2006 benchmarking hadreduced water (and energy) consumption to levelsapproaching the industry best practice — some by as muchas 50%.

Irrigating strawberries in SpainIn 2010 irrigation benchmarking was introduced to growersin Huelva in southern Spain – Europe’s main strawberryproduction area. But this is also home to the DoñanaNational Park and they share a limited water resource.

‘Peer group’ pressure from applying benchmarkperformance indicators reduced the wide variation in waterconsumption among growers and reduced water wastagefor the benefit of both growers and the National Park.

“Benchmarking our potato production hasreally helped to highlight areas where wecan improve irrigation management, toreduce water and energy consumption. Wealso understand just how sensitive cropreturns are to water and energy costs, andthe importance of irrigation efficiency.Richard Solari – Shropshire based potato grower

Identification and planning

Actio

n

Data collectionAnalysis

Integration

Mon

itorin

g and

evalu

at

iono

f

tiiioattt

io

aat

i

uualluaalvvae

naangga

nngriiinrrinooritttoiitonnioonMM

o

iifttinnteenddeIId

o

g

itticct

ellelllool

ccoatta

aatDDa

nngiinnninnnaanllappldd pnndaannoitacif

n

gettenIIn

oon iiotti cct AAc

n

s

n

oitarrag

siiisssisyys

allly aalynna

AAno

Irrigation Benchmarking02 03Irrigation Benchmarking

Benchmarking enables you to compare your irrigation performance with othergrowers. It is like ‘looking over the fence’ to see what your neighbours are doingand finding ways to improve your business performance and environmentalsustainability.

Benchmarking is not a ‘one-off’ exercise. It is a cyclical process involving collectingdata, analysing it, and then implementingchanges to improve performance.Experience from other irrigationbenchmarking studies has shown thatthe best results come from using it over a3-5 year period or even longer. Over thisperiod it is possible to see the benefits ofany changes made the previous year, andto monitor business impacts.

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 20070

200

400

600

800

1000

mm

/ha

1200

Figure 1 This data shows how 6 individual growers have allreduced their irrigation water use over time, mainly inresponse to benchmarking their irrigation managementpractices.

Step 1

Registering your farmTo use the benchmark tool you will need to register yourfarm with a user name and password. We will also needyour address and postcode so that we can accesspublished information on climate, water, and soils for yourfarm as part of assessing your performance.

Step 2

Logging in…Once you have registered you can start using thebenchmark tool straight away. Just log in first click on farmdetails to check that you have correctly entered informationabout your farm. You can change these if you wish.

Using thebenchmarking tool…

Farm Details

Below are the details of your farm, you can update and ch

Farm Details



Account Details

Farm details

ange these at any time.Below are the details of your farm, you can update and ch

Account Details

ange these at any time.

Farm Details

Postcode

e Address 2

e Address 1

Your name

Fox Milne, Milton KeyneFox Milne, Milton Keyne

Farm Details

MK15 0DUPostcode

Visual Identit

19 Diamond Court

ess 2

ye

es es

Account Details

dNew Password

dNew Password

Your Passwo drd

Your email

*********

eCreativity@visualidentity

*********

*********

.co.uk

Account Details

.co.uk

AccessibilityAbout us

Privacy policyAccessibility



Step 4

Checking/editing your data…You can view, edit, and delete your data. You can also addas many fields as you wish. Once you are happy with yourdata input your part in the process is completed

What happens next?We will add your data to those we have received from othergrowers and analyse the results.

We will then send you your Grower Scorecard. Thetimetable for this is as follows:

Data collection: You register and enter your data any timebetween 1st November to 31st January

Analysis:We analyse the data and prepare the GrowerScorecards in February.

Scorecard mailing:We send you your grower scorecard byemail in April.

Field & crField & crop details

Field ID:

similar circumstances. mary for your field.

Field Name:KPI Scorecard

Using the farm data supplied, a set of KPI value

58 North field 1

similar circumstances. The scorecard uses a mary for your field. This scorecard shows you ho

Field Name:KPI Scorecard

Using the farm data supplied, a set of KPI value

The scorecard uses a !traffic light" system to indicate performance:This scorecard shows you how well you are performing relative to others growing the same crop in

Using the farm data supplied, a set of KPI values for each field have been calculated.

system to indicate performance:w well you are performing relative to others growing the same crop in

s for each field have been calculated.

system to indicate performance:w well you are performing relative to others growing the same crop in

s for each field have been calculated. The KPI scorecard below is a sumw well you are performing relative to others growing the same crop in

-The KPI scorecard below is a sum

Field ID: 58

Duis rhoncus sapien vel lectus interdum tristique. Nullam Duis rhoncus sapien vel lectus interdum tristique. Nullam Duis rhoncus sapien vel lectus interdum tristique. Nullam

Field & cr

dictum Duis rhoncus sapien vel lectus interdum tristique. Nullam condimentum urna

Field & crop details

condimentum urna.

49

42

47

FieldID

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.



FieldID




Field Name




Actions

77

61

52












AccessibilityAbout us Privacy policyAccessibility


You can access the benchmarking tool online via the UKIA websitewww.ukia.org You must first register your farm, then enter your data field-by-field. In return we will send you a Grower Scorecard. This tells you how well youare doing in four key performance areas compared to other similar growers…

Step 3

Providing your field and crop data…You are now ready to input your field and crop data. Click on ‘Field and crop details’

Information you will need…

• Cropped area (hectares not acres)• Total amount of water applied in the season (mm)• Crop yield (in tons per hectare); Crop value (in £ per ton)• Plus information about crop type, variety, irrigationequipment, and scheduling method

Learn more aboutbenchmarking andhow to use thewebtool to assessyour performance onvideo at www.ukia.orgThe tool is set up to ensure thatno‐one else has access to yourdata and all comparisons aremade anonymously.

Field 1

Field 2

Field 3

Field 4

Field 5

Field 6

Field details

IrrigationBenchmarking Home Farm details Field & crop details KPIs Feedback Logout

Data may be less accurate because the field is greater than 10km from the farm

Irrigation performance

Annual irrigation water applied: 300mm

Relative irrigation supply (RIS): 2.9

Theoretical irrigation need: 102mm

KPI Scorecard

Using the farm data supplied, a set of KPI values for each field have been calculated. The KPI scorecard below is a summary for your field. This scorecard shows you how well you are performing relative to others growing the same crop in similar circumstances. The scorecard uses a ‘traffic light’ system to indicate performance:

Yield productivity 40 t/ha

Irrigation use efficiency 114 kg m3

Output/per irrigated ha £4800

Output/volume water applied £13.70 m3

Water cost/ha irrigated land £226 haFinancial

performance

Environmentalperformance

Energy indicator: 183 KWh/ha

Ground/surface water scarcity: Overabstracted

Bluewater footprint: 8.75m3/t

Field Name: North field 1Field ID: 58

Agriculturalproductivity

op detailsField & cr

similar circumstances.

KPI Scorecard

summary for your field. Using the farm data supplied, a set of KPI values for each field have been calculated.

58Field ID: North field 1Field Name:

system to indicate performance:

KPI Scorecard

fic light’The scorecard uses a ‘trafsimilar circumstances. This scorecard shows you how well you are performing relative to others growing the same crop in summary for your field.

Using the farm data supplied, a set of KPI values for each field have been calculated.

North field 1

system to indicate performance:This scorecard shows you how well you are performing relative to others growing the same crop in

The KPI scorecard below is a Using the farm data supplied, a set of KPI values for each field have been calculated. This scorecard shows you how well you are performing relative to others growing the same crop in

Closing theperformance gap


Benchmarking can show you how your performance compares withothers growing the same crop under very similar conditions. The keyis in knowing where you are relative to others, and then where youneed to focus to improve water productivity and crop returns. Ourtraffic light benchmarking approach can help you.

Four key performance areas...

Irrigation performanceWe compare your annual irrigation waterapplied (mm) to the amount we think youshould have used based on your local agro-climate (mm).

Agricultural productionWe compare your crop yield (t/ha) andirrigation water use efficiency (kg of produceper m3 of water applied).

Financial performanceWe compare your output per hectare (£/ha),water costs (£/m3) and benefits (£/m3).

Environmental performanceWe compare your energy use per hectare(kW/ha); groundwater/ surface water scarcity(over/under‐abstracted); and your bluewaterfootprint (m3 water/ton of produce)

How well am I performing?Using the data that you and other growers have provided viathe benchmarking webtool, we first calculate a set of KeyPerformance Indicators (KPIs) on a field by field basis toassess your performance relative to others. We thengenerate a Grower Scorecard for your farm.

This summarises a set of KPIs for each field so you cancompare your performance to others using a simple ‘trafficlight’ system. We define green to denote ‘good’performance; amber as ‘satisfactory’ and red implies thereis ‘major’ scope for improvement.

Can I perform better?How well are you doing?One question growers often ask is “How do I compareagainst others in terms of irrigation performance? The graphshows the variability in irrigation (mm) on maincrop potatoesfor both processing and fresh markets in 2011. It is basedon data from a large sample (80) of growers via the webtooland covers about 350 fields. This highlights the differencesin irrigation use between growers and shows a wide range(50 to 250 mm) in application with an average depth of 125mm.

Of course there are many reasons why irrigation needs varybetween individual fields, including crop varieties, soil typeand agroclimate variation. These explain some of thevariation, but we also know that different levels of irrigationexpertise and management (scheduling) are also importantfactors.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Processing

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Fresh

Irrig

atio

n ap

plie

d (m

m)

Benchmarking is all aboutclosing the ’performance gap’and moving the ‘average’ growernearer to the ‘best’

Where am I?Ideally you need to be in the green zoneThe next key question a grower might ask is “so where am I in relation to others growing the same variety under similarsoil and agroclimate conditions”.

This graph shows some data from the benchmarkingwebtool for an individual grower. His fields (A, B, C and D)are compared against the ‘statistical neighbours’. The dataare ranked and colour coded using a ‘traffic light’ approachso that he can see whether his fields are in the green zone,which is ‘good’ in terms of irrigation management. Amberand red signify opportunities to reduce water use and/orincrease water efficiency.

The two figures relate to irrigation water use only. But ofcourse these need to be integrated with crop yield to seehow much was produced per unit of water applied. Ideally agrower wants to minimise the amount of irrigation appliedand maximise yield – this is known as the irrigation useefficiency (IUE), one of the key performance indicators in thebenchmarking webtool.

This graph shows how irrigation water use and potato yielddata have been integrated. The point at which the axescross is the average water use (125 mm) and average yield(48 t/ha). Some growers have low yields with a high level ofirrigation use and some have high yields but with low wateruse. This is the ideal position to strive for, the shaded box.Growers in this area are then targeted to identify their ‘bestmanagement practices’ which can be shared with others.

Improving performance is then part of the ‘Pathway toEfficiency”. See the "Save Water Save Money" booklet formore information on that.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Sea

sona

l irr

igat

ion

wat

er a

pplie

d (m

m)

Individual grower fields

A B

C

D

Variation in irrigation need for 4 fields for an individualgrower, classified as a ‘traffic light’ to show how hecompares against his statistical neighbours.

15

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Yield (t/ha)

Wat

er a

pplie

d (m

m)

20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

Processing Fresh

Combining irrigation use with potato yield data can help toidentify irrigation use efficiency. Growers using the leastamount of water and obtaining the highest yield are in thegreen shaded box.

irrigation · irrigation benchmarking comparing performance to improve water efficiency, value, and...

Documents