At a meeting in Rochester this week, 70 per cent of landholders walked away from irrigation, a number that has shocked the Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project.

NVIRP modernisation executive director David Kent said he was expecting some to cease irrigation but was surprised by the number.

A total 108 of 153 irrigators, who hold 90 per cent of the district’s water allocations, are set to accept payouts in exchange for their entitlements.

The move comes after irrigators received zero allocations in four of the past five years as a result of crippling drought and minimal rainfall at Lake Eppalock.

“We will be offering an agreement to customers and giving them a bit of time to read over that and make sure they’re happy with it and then we’ll pay them out,” Mr Kent said.

“We’ll be working with the other 30 per cent of landholders to talk about other alternatives, perhaps connecting into the river system or the Waranga Irrigation Channel.”

NVIRP Campaspe Reference Group chairman and Rochester farmer Bruce Macague said discussions started more than 12 months ago after $2.5 million in State Government upgrade funding was announced.

“Then they discovered that a number of irrigators actually wished to exit irrigation and they came up with an adjustment package for those wanting to leave.”

Mr Macague did not want to discuss his own decision, but said the irrigators had not put pressure on each other and individual decisions were respected.

He did not expect negative effects from the decisions.

“On the east side where there are tomato growers and lucerne production they’ve already set up their own irrigation systems,” Mr Macague said.

“On the west they’re using groundwater and deep leads.

“Those wanting to get out will use the (financial) adjustments to make their current systems more formalised.”

Shire of Campaspe Mayor Peter Williams said they would keep a close eye on the situation to ensure those remaining in irrigation got a fair deal.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Andrew Broad said landholders exiting the system had negotiated “fairly handsome” payouts.

“Because they’ve had a zero allocation for the past four years I think those farmers would rather have the payout than invest in infrastructure they no longer see as sustainable.

“That’s certainly not my view.”

Undecided landholders have been offered one-off payments of $1000 to seek advice from solicitors, accountants and other professionals to help them make a decision.