But for some living in such communities, the outlook now is not all negative: there remains optimism about the future of the places in which they live.

The profiles, compiled by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, reflect on population change, the workforce, economic structure, and the impact of the Basin Plan – a reform to rebalance water use with environmental needs – in the 15 years to 2016.

The MDBA developed 40 profiles of irrigation-dependent communities as part of an evaluation of the Basin Plan, with Rochester, Pyramid Hill-Boort and Kerang-Cohuna those within central Victoria.

The profile shows the community of the Pyramid Hill and Boort area witnessed its total workforce drop by almost a half in the 15 years from 2001, with most of the decline occurring in the five years to 2016.

The agricultural manufacturing sector experienced a significant loss, with 48 full-time equivalent positions gone in 15 years, a drop of more than 62 per cent.

In 2001, about 900 full-time equivalent jobs existed on farms, including seasonal workers – by 2016, this had dropped by 66 per cent.

And within the towns, the proportion of people in full-time employment fell from more than a quarter in 2001 to less than 20 per cent in 2016.

But Nev Miller, president of the Pyramid Hill Progress Association, is not pessimistic about the community’s prospects.

“I still see a bright future,” Mr Miller, a business owner and farmer, said.

“There’s still a lot of investment going on in people’s farms.”

While the town’s abattoir and pet food company had closed, Mr Miller said there were plenty of dairy farms and piggeries “crying out” for workers.

He said the area’s status as a mixed farming area was a strength: while one commodity might experience a downturn, another would do well.

The MDBA report showed the area population decreased by 23 per cent from 2001 to 2016, and the town population continued to age – in 2016, 59 per cent of people were aged 45 or older, up from 50 per cent 15 years previous.

But again, Mr Miller sees reason for optimism, in part thanks to the town’s Filipino migrant community.

Last year there were 35 Filipino families in the town, up from just one in 2008.

Mr Miller said people were investing in houses in the town, which they would not do if they did not intend to stay.

He said there were currently about three houses going up in Pyramid Hill – not a huge number by the measure of somewhere like Bendigo, but an indication the town was not moving backwards.

When asked whether he was confident in the long-term security of the community, Mr Miller said “Who knows?”

“At this present time it’s not thriving, but it’s going forward, that’s all you can really ask,” he said.

Milk production, the main form of irrigated production in the area, has seen an overall decline of almost a third since the early 2000s.

The MDBA says contributing factors include the sale of water prior to 2007-2008, long-term effects of drought, farming practice changes due to this and the Basin Plan, and milk prices.

In the 15 years from 2001 to 2016, the Rochester area saw a decline in the number of full-time equivalent jobs of more than 21 per cent, with workforce participation falling from 34.4 to 29.3 full-time equivalent per 100 people.

Among the different sectors, it was the non-agriculture private workforce that saw the greatest decrease, losing 396 full-time equivalent positions – a drop of 32.7 per cent – in the 15 years, with the greatest decline seen between 2011 and 2016.

The agricultural and agricultural manufacturing workforces saw declines of 29.1 per cent and 27.8 per cent respectively, while farm employment specifically fell by 42 per cent.

Since 2016, the town has suffered the loss of the Murray Goulburn factory, which put more than 100 people out of work.

The government workforce increased overall in the 15 years by 11.2 per cent, but after an initial jump in the 10 years to 2011, it began falling in the five years to 2016.

However, the town of Rochester itself saw an increase of 3.7 per cent in its population, despite a decline of 8 per cent in the area overall.

The area’s setbacks in recent times have not left its residents feeling hopeless.

The town is currently watching its GrainCorp silo become canvas to a massive artwork, a community-funded initiative that Campaspe Shire’s Rochester ward councillor Leigh Wilson has said will hopefully attract more visitors.

Of the three central Victorian communities considered in the MDBA’s evaluation, the Kerang and Cohuna area has experienced the smallest decline in its workforce.

From 2001 to 2016, the community’s total workforce fell by 10 per cent.

While the agricultural, agricultural manufacturing and non-agriculture private workforces all decreased in that time, the government services workforce grew by 211 full-time equivalent jobs, an increase of 41.8 per cent.

But farm employment dropped by about 43 per cent in the 15 years.

The proportion of people in the towns in full-time employment also fell, from about 24 per cent to 20 per cent.

The town population fell by just under 3 per cent, but the area population witnessed growth of almost 9 per cent.

This community, too, saw milk production fall, although again it experienced the smallest decline, which was about 16 per cent.