10 IREC Farmers' Newsletter No. 199 — Autumn 2018 QUICK TAKE The Hardys at Coleambally are looking forward to harvesting the fifth crop in a double cropping program based on rice and winter cereals. ONE PADDOCK, TWO AND A HALF YEARS, FIVE CROPS l  With the advent of short-season rice varieties and improved irrigation layouts, some irrigators are successfully including rice in double cropping programs. l  Cropping systems are becoming more flexible with the increasing range of short-season crop varieties. If more irrigation allocation becomes available, growers can make in-season planning decisions without sacrificing the winter crop and capitalise on the opportunity to increase returns per hectare per year. l  Chris and Sue Hardy of Coleambally have grown five crops in two and a half years, alternating new rice variety YRM70 with winter cereals, on an irrigation layout of beds in bays. This article is based on a case study published by Rice Extension in August 2017 in the series Flexible, successful rice-farming systems. Information from recent seasons has been added to this article. Chris and Sue Hardy of Coleambally have benefited from the adoption of new plant and infrastructure technologies to increase the productivity, profitability and efficiency of their farming business. Leah Garnett Extension Officer – Murrumbidgee Rice Extension IRRIGATION layouts and technology have evolved over the decades and now rice growers are able to grow a wider range of crops, including rice, on raised beds in bankless channel layouts. Added to improved layouts, rice growers have benefited from ongoing investment in rice R&D. After years of plant breeding, shorter-season rice varieties are available as an option for irrigated double cropping. Incorporating these improvements into their farming system has allowed the Hardys to grow their fifth crop, this summer crop season, in two and a half years in a 25-hectare paddock. The fifth crop in the system (YRM70 rice) was not harvested at the time of writing but so far, with four crops in about two years, the paddock has generated a total gross margin of $7343/ha and $183,575 for the 25 ha (Table 1).