RICE production has been given a boost with a 3 per cent increase in general security water allocation for Murray and Murrumbidgee irrigators.
The Ricegrowers' Association of Australia has welcomed the announcement by NSW Office for Water commission David Harriss, saying the recent extremely hot weather had pushed growers' water use to the full extent of available water.
"While our production this season will still be well below an average crop, most growers will now be much more confident about being able to finish their crops and get reasonable yields and returns," association executive director Ruth Wade said.
Ms Wade said most Murray Valley rice growers had not grown the crop for the past four years due to drought.
She said the Australian wheat crop was now tipped to be about 160,000-170,000 tonnes in size, well above the 66,000 tonnes harvested last year.
Average national production was 1.2 million tonnes and the industry needs an annual crop of 800,000 tonnes to keep all its mills running.
