Enhancing community networks

WHY THIS PROJECT WAS NEEDED

Droughts and climatic events are inevitable in the Australian landscape, and they can have severe economic, social and environmental impacts on individuals and regional communities.

Farmers, business operators and Indigenous custodians in our community all have a different experience of drought and climatic events, and there are a vast range of strategies that individuals have adopted, some of which worked and others that didn’t.

This project was designed to help people in Riverine Plains’ communities make personal and business connections that can help them better prepare for the next drought or climate challenge. The workshops helped create connections so that individuals and community members could exchange ideas about ways to manage climate challenges and provide support to each other, as well as provide direction to the business and personal support services that are available.

In short: Riverine Plains conducted 30 workshops across southern NSW and northeast Victoria to help farmers and communities share their insights and experiences of drought. The aim was to help communities prepare for future droughts by connecting primary producers, landholders, and Indigenous custodians.

Project focus

Riverine Plains hosted nearly 30 workshops across southern NSW and north-east Victoria to connect primary producers, landholders and Indigenous custodians. The workshops were designed to build capacity, share knowledge and help improve community resilience to future drought and climate challenges.

Project outcomes

The Enhancing Community Networks for Drought Resilience in the Riverine Plains project used a series of workshops to help people in the region better prepare for future droughts. Its aim was to build capacity, share knowledge and help improve community resilience to future droughts. The workshops resulted in the following drought preparation strategies:

Livestock

• Improve stock water by updating water systems to every paddock and cleaning out dams, and identify “backup systems” for water supply
• Fence off dams to improve water quality and increase biodiversity
• Update farm layouts and management zones and plan fire management pathways around house and sheds
• Strategies to stop paddocks eroding
• Have a plan of when to start feeding stock, and know the trigger point for off-loading stock
• Update sheepyards
• Create a stock containment area, a smal paddock with good water and shade
• Increase silage and pasture stores to two years' supply
• Have good dogs for ease of stock management
• Focus on soil health and fertility
• Establish drought tolerant pasture species

Grain production and irrigation

• Focus on soil health and fertility
• Test your soils and monitor crops to identify the most limiting factor and address that now
• Trial multispecies and cover crops
• Have strategies to stop paddocks eroding
• Complete silage/hay planning
• Maintain high phosphorus levels
• Build/upgrade on-farm grain storage
• Upgrade weigh bridges and trucks
• Have bores rather than relying on irrigation water allocation from the river
• Carry over irrigation water to the next year when you don’t need it
• Build water storage to take advantage of off-allocation irrigation water
• Buy more water for irrigation
• Consider crop choice and water use of irrigated summer crops
• Improve the uniformity of application and infiltration of water from the irrigation system. 

Business

• Have a long-term strategic plan and implement it
• Be flexible
• Have a cashflow budget and regularly review it
• Upskil on the impacts of climate change
• Have good networks around you, such as smal farmer groups to help plan
• Be proactive with succession transitions
• Start a conversation now with the next generation as a family
• Plan ahead for purchase of inputs and capital items to get work done in a timely manner
• Have a conversation with your bank now
• Review if the business has the appropriate management structure
• Utilise government grants and low interest rate loans on new or existing infrastructure that can help prepare for future droughts
• Put money aside considering taxes and what is needed now
• Consider Farm Management Deposits (FMDs) to ensure payments can be made in a bad year
• Communicate with family members
• Restructure loan repayments
• Consider off-farm investment versus on-farm
• Utilise houses on the farm for younger generation or additional income
• Expand the operation or take on a new enterprise for diversity
• Look for opportunities to diversify income streams before and during a drought e.g., contracting, off-farm income
• Better equity due to high land values provides an opportunity to invest in drought management strategies
• Have a plan of your business triggers e.g., when do you not plant a particular crop, or when do you start destocking
• Maintain equipment to ensure it is in a usable state at all times to maximise efficiency and minimise risk
• Strategically diversify locations of farms
• Know when it is time to exit farming
• Make key decisions when times are good
• Consolidate debt.

Personal

• Enjoy the good years
• Find something you enjoy doing
• Stay connected and keep communication open
• Look after yourself; good eating and sleeping habits
• Look for kids’ support programs
• Check in on people through regular phone calls
• Plan a holiday to get away
• Keep physically and mentally fit
• Advocate for occasional counsellor training for service providers. 

Thank you to all the community groups who hosted the workshops, and to the industry professionals who contributed their time and expertise.

Further reading

• Read the report produced in 2022 for Research for the Riverine Plains.