Customer partnerships are playing an increasingly important role in how irrigation authorities support regional development, as shown by Goulburn-Murray Water’s long-running collaboration with agricultural investment company GO.FARM in northern Victoria.
The partnership has helped progress GO.FARM’s $90 million almond development near Coomboona in the Goulburn Valley, demonstrating how flexible service delivery and early engagement can unlock both private investment and broader regional benefits.
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Supporting large-scale irrigation development
GO.FARM’s ‘Goulburn Gold’ project has brought together five former dairy and grazing properties into a single almond enterprise near Shepparton, requiring careful coordination around water delivery points, channel access and infrastructure configuration.
Goulburn-Murray Water has worked with the company over several years to support site amalgamation, relocate service points and progress a private works licence allowing works to be undertaken beneath irrigation channels.
These changes have provided greater operational flexibility for water use across the property while maintaining the integrity and reliability of the broader irrigation network.
Enabling flexibility within the irrigation system
Private works licences and service point consolidation are increasingly important tools for irrigation operators managing diverse customer needs across legacy gravity networks.
For water corporations, the challenge lies in balancing customised solutions for individual customers with system-wide efficiency, equity and long-term asset performance.
GMW General Manager of Water Delivery Services Warren Blyth said the collaboration reflected the corporation’s broader role in supporting regional outcomes.
“It’s fantastic to work alongside companies like GO.FARM who are establishing significant projects in the region,” Blyth said.
“Our works to help progress GO.FARM’s Coomboona almond farm highlight GMW’s commitment to influence and enhance regional outcomes while working with partners and stakeholders.”
Customer engagement as infrastructure strategy
For GO.FARM, the ability to engage early with the irrigation authority has been central to delivering the development at scale.
GO.FARM Head of Farmland Development Joe Barlow said responsiveness around water service changes was critical to project delivery.
“The GO.FARM team greatly appreciate the responsiveness from GMW to assist with relocating service points and outlet consolidation, which is a very important part of our developments,” Barlow said.
Such partnerships underline how irrigation authorities are moving beyond transactional water delivery to play a more strategic role in enabling agricultural investment.
A broader irrigation footprint
Goulburn-Murray Water manages around 10,000 kilometres of delivery and drainage infrastructure, supplying more than 25,000 active customers across northern Victoria.
Its customer base ranges from large-scale gravity irrigators through to smaller lifestyle landholders, with irrigation supporting industries including dairy, horticulture and broadacre cropping across the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District.
As farming systems evolve and land use consolidates in some areas, irrigation operators are increasingly required to adapt infrastructure and service models to support changing demands.
The partnership with GO.FARM offers a practical example of how water corporations can support regional productivity while maintaining reliable, affordable irrigation services for the wider customer base.