IRRIGATORS have slammed the Federal Government's $150,000 exit grant, labelling it a disaster that few will take up.

The grants allow irrigators to stay on their properties in return for selling their water entitlement to the Government.

Anyone accepting a grant must remove permanent plantings and irrigation systems.

And grant recipients must guarantee they will not irrigate for five years or own an irrigation property.

Sunraysia irrigator Malcolm Bennett said the grants were "pretty much a disaster" that would create a patchwork of dry blocks in irrigation districts that no-one could use for five years.

"It's particularly harsh on everyone whose left in pump districts like Merbein," Mr Bennett said.

Victorian Farmers Federation Sunraysia branch vice-president John Piccirillo said there was a lot of overkill in the package when it came to banning irrigation for five years.

"If you can sell the block with the irrigation infrastructure it has a higher value," he said.

He said the Government had also failed to make clear why it had made grants conditional on the Murray Darling Basin state governments' rezoning land "so that irrigators likely to apply for the grants are not restricted by the land being classified as agricultural or irrigated land".

"You couldn't get any zoning changes in by June 30 (when the grants end) anyway," Mr Piccirillo said.

Mr Piccirillo said irrigators also faced the uncertainty of not knowing how much they would get for their water, given they had to sell under the Government's water tender. The tender requires irrigators to nominate the price they will accept.

"It creates a lot of uncertainty," Mr Piccorillo said.

"It's a disgrace they way they're rolling this out in dribs and drabs.

Federal Water Minister Penny Wong said the package arose "out of my consultation and the Government's consultation with irrigators".

"So we put in place a package which is available to irrigators across the Basin."

The grants are only available to irrigators with 15ha or less, who owned at least 10 megalitres on September 20 when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the grants.

Irrigators must pay tax on the $150,000 and the money they gain from the sale of water.

Irrigators may also apply for grants of up to $10,000 to remove plantings and irrigation infrastructure as well as a $10,000 retraining grant.