— 6 IREC Farmers' Newsletter No. 200 — Spring 2018 raising, partnerships and administration of IREC. This committee will meet every month reporting back to the broader committee, which will still meet four times a year. The new executive committee will closely resemble current representative membership. These changes involve changes to IREC’s constitution, along with other requirements to make our constitution relevant for current day practice. These amendments were forwarded to members for consideration, and then presented and passed unanimously at the AGM in August. 200 large area editions of the Farmers’ Newsletter This edition is the 200th since the Farmers’ Newsletter was split into large area and horticultural editions. The Farmers’ Newsletter has been an important means of extending information to irrigators in southern New South Wales for many decades; and in that time, the publication has taken many forms. In 2016, IREC made the decision to go digital with publication and delivery. Starting with this edition, there will be further tweaks to the digital format, hopefully for easier reading on tablets and computers. We welcome your feedback on these changes. In this ‘information age’, information arrives in many and varied ways. To that end, IREC will be doing a lot more cross- promotion of the articles that our valued contributors provide to the Farmers’ Newsletter. The future The future of irrigated agriculture has never looked more exciting. IREC has great support from its major commodity organisations, Murrumbidgee Irrigation, Coleambally Irrigation Co-operative Limited and Deakin University to investigate and extend new technologies. For IREC to play its role in irrigated agriculture in the future, it is vital to have a large membership base. This is important to help identify relevant key areas for targeted research and to extend findings to a broad sector of the farming community, to encourage quick uptake of the most recent advancements. Together we can deliver the huge ‘promise’ that technology has to offer. To this end, please make sure your IREC membership is current. You can do this via the IREC website or simply contact the IREC office and speak with Hayley. Now is a good time to join up, to get the best bang for your buck! I hope you enjoy this edition of the Farmers’ Newsletter, and the current season improves soon. More information Rob Houghton T: 02 6963 0936 E: [email protected] — 6 IREC Farmers' Newsletter No. 200 — Spring 2018 Chairman’s welcome BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE