A TOTAL $100 million has been allocated in federal government funding - largely matched by the respective states - to help farmers to afford a range of on-farm water infrastructure projects to help drought-proof their farms.
The latest investment was $25m announced last month, in response to the popularity of the program, originally launched in 2019.
Nationally, the scheme has offered rebates of 25 per cent for the cost of the infrastructure, but in January last year, the scheme was offered in SA for rebates of up to 50pc - up to $50,000.
It is fair to say it was well received. So well received, by mid-way through the year, the funds had run out, leaving a number of people who had applied left out.
This spurred numerous calls for increased funding, and Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister David Basham responded by asking PIRSA to "look for more buckets" of funding for those who had already completed projects.
This resulted in an extra $2m for existing applications and another $1.45m for future applicants, albeit back to 30pc rebates, up to $30,000.
At the time, the state government said it would be happy to return the rebate to 50pc if the federal government came back to the table.
This did happen late last year, with the federal government announcing $25m in funding, with the negotiations sorted in February this year.
And the popularity is continuing, with the further announcement of $25m in April - but any future projects will have the rebate back at 25pc.
Even with these announcements, farmers are still cautious with one saying there was risk involved.
"Any expense during drought or drought recovery carries a lot of impact," he said.
"Am I prepared to spend $20,000 when I might only get $5000 back or worse - nothing? That is the question I keep asking."
Start the day with all the big news in agriculture. Sign up here to receive our daily Stock Journal newsletter.