Farm X Australia

What would drainage be worth on your place?

Work out the yield gain, the cost, and how long it takes to pay for itself — using your own numbers. Change anything that doesn't match your farm.

1

Your country

Only the wet, underperforming ground — not your whole farm.

ha
The paddock or block you'd start with.
ha
Total wet country you'd get to eventually. The plough cost is spread across this.
2

Your crop

Sets a starting yield and price. Both editable.
$ /t
Use the price you'd budget on, not a peak.
t/ha
Your average across good and bad years — including the years it drowns out. Put 0 if it grows nothing, then use "Enter my own yields" below.
WA trials on waterlogged sites recorded 39–73% in canola and about 47% in barley. Starting at the cautious end.
3

Your drainage

Spacing is the biggest cost lever there is — wider spacing on free-draining soil means far less pipe per hectare.

m
Heavier soil needs tighter spacing. We design this per paddock.
$ /m
Pipe, fuel and your own labour, owner-operated. Aggregate backfill costs more.
4

Your plough

Spread across the total area you plan to drain — so the first paddock doesn't carry the whole machine.

$
Put in the figure we've quoted you. Grade control, if you need it, goes in here too.

Your numbers

What it looks like

— to pay for itself

Extra yield

—

on the drained area

Extra income / year

—

at your price

To invest now

—

pipe plus machine share

Where you stand, year by year

Gold = ahead

What this assumes

  • The yield lift applies to the waterlogged area only — the ground where water, not anything else, is holding you back.
  • Same price and same lift every year. No allowance for interest, inflation, or seasons that go against you.
  • Drainage keeps working long after it's paid for — this shows the first 12 years.
  • An estimate to think with, not a guarantee. Soil, salinity, rainfall and design all move the result.

Let's check it against your paddock

Send us your soil type, your wet country and your tractor weight, and we'll come back with real spacing, real cost and the right plough for the job.

Find the right configuration

Yield ranges from GRDC-funded drainage trials on waterlogged sites in Western Australia (Stirlings to Coast Farmers / South Coast NRM). Prices and costs are editable defaults, not live market figures — check current values before making a decision.