Southern NSW Drought Hub

WHY THIS PROJECT IS IMPORTANT

The Drought Adoption and Innovation Hubs are delivering a number of on-the-ground projects across Australia. 

The Southern NSW Hub is focusing on delivering innovations to enable farmers and communities to become more drought resilient and to better respond to a changing climate. It works by connecting farmers, industry and researchers to drive the development and adoption of innovative on-farm technologies and practices to improve future drought resilience.

Drought is an inevitable part of the Australian landscape, but because the timing, severity and duration of the next one is unknown, planning ahead is important. This can help reduce the economic, social and environmental impacts of future drought and climate challenges, which can otherwise impact the profitability and sustainability of farmers, communities and agribusiness.

Background

The partners in the Southern NSW Hub include the Australian National University, Farming Systems Groups Alliance (which includes Riverine Plains), the First Nations Governance Circle, Local Land Services, the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Rural Aid, the University of Canberra and the University of Wollongong. The Hub encompasses most of the Macquarie River catchment and lower reaches of the Darling River, the Illawarra and South Coast, the Riverina, the Australian alps and Western New South Wales. The Southern NSW Hub’s coverage includes Canberra, Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst and their surrounding regions.

Since the engagement process for the Southern NSW Hub was completed in November 2021, Rhiannan McPhee has been representing the Riverine Plains region as a Knowledge Broker. Rhiannan has been working with the team at Riverine Plains, our members, and individuals across the region to provide information to the Southern NSW Hub on the key drought preparedness and innovation priorities identified for our region.

The Southern NSW Hub works with the Knowledge Broker network and universities to provide relevant resources and support the development and delivery of projects that help address these priorities across southern New South Wales.

Project focus

The Southern NSW Hub is tapping into the knowledge gained by local farmers and communities through their own experiences of drought, while also bringing together new ideas, perspectives, research, and technologies to help prepare for drought, and encouraging their adoption on-farm.

A major project that has resulted from the Southern NSW Hub collaboration is the Improved drought resilience through optimal management of soil and water project. Partners in this large-scale project include CSIRO, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Southern Growers, Central West Farming Systems, FarmLink and Charles Sturt University. This project showcases the work of John Kirkegaard’s previous small-scale field trials looking at increased water use efficiency, soil organic carbon and nitrogen utilisation.

Other successful cross-hub projects with the Farming Systems Group Alliance (FSGA) include:

• Changing landscapes with drought resilient pastures
• Saving soil during drought 
• Preparing Australia, an audit of existing weather stations to provide support to standardise and validate data with the Bureau of Meteorology

Project outcomes

A summary of key outcomes from the project's 2023 activities were published in Research for the Riverine Plains, 2024.

Key messages were:

• The Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (Southern NSW Hub) enables regional communities to have a voice in drought resilience activities, gain access to resources, and provides tools and programs to assist adoption.
• The work to date has revealed that while many learnings can be applied from past droughts, there are still knowledge gaps that could be filled by helping farmers not only in managing current situations but being prepared for climate variability.

As a result of collaboration with the Southern NSW Hub and various partner organisations, Riverine Plains has been involved in three projects within the Drought Resilient Soils and Landscapes grant program. 

The Improved drought resilience through Optimal management of soils and available water project showcases the work of John Kirkegaard’s previous small-scale field trials looking at increased water use efficiency, soil organic carbon and nitrogen utilisation. The Saving Our Soils During Drought project demonstrated the best practice application of stock containment areas and was supported by a comprehensive suite of tools, materials and information to provide producers with knowledge and confidence to adopt. The Changing landscapes with drought resilient pastures project uses the latest research on species and management to increase the use of perennial pasture species within farming landscapes, to increase resilience during dry  seasons.

Riverine Plains is also involved in the On-Farm Water Management project which will assist farmers to prepare and implement on-farm water management plans. These plans will be developed at workshops and one-on-one sessions to help farmers  determine their stock and domestic water requirements and the capacity to meet these needs.

The Southern NSW Hub have awarded multiple partner organisations, including Riverine Plains, co-design grants which will assist with development of various projects and programs. To this end, Riverine Plains has completed codesign and consultation with our members and industry on the topic of succession planning and the challenges associated with starting the journey.

Finally, the Southern NSW Hub have been successful in the recent Future Drought Fund (FDF) Long Term Trial grant process, with Riverine Plains to be involved in the Long Term Field Trials in Southern NSW project. This project will see six years of small plot trials research extended to demonstration sites managed by farming systems groups such as Riverine Plains.

Read the full article: Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.

Previous year's outcomes

Riverine Plains also reported on the Southern NSW Hub's activities in Research for the Riverine Plains, 2023. 

Key messages were:

1. The Southern NSW Hub is enabling regional communities to have a voice in drought resilience activities and gain access to resources. The Hub provides tools and programs to assist adoption.
2. Riverine Plains has appointed a Knowledge Broker for the Southern NSW Hub to represent our region and contribute to developing projects and resources that address identified priorities.
3. Work to date has revealed that while much can be learned and applied from past droughts, there are still knowledge gaps that could be filled by helping farmers to manage current situations and be better prepared for future climate variability

The Southern NSW Hub has played a key role in enabling Riverine Plains’ involvement in several large, multi-agency projects. The first year of the Hub has resulted in many new projects, increased community engagement and confirmation that for the Hub to be a success, it must provide accessible resources and support to community members. Riverine Plains has committed to providing resources through our communication channels, including social media, emails, blog posts and our Trial Books, as well as incorporating key information across our events throughout the year. Most of our audience is time-poor, so we are working to streamline information and provide timely, relevant and reputable information and support, not only for our members but for the wider region in which we operate.

Acknowledgements

This program is supported by Riverine Plains through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

Author: Rhiannan McPhee, Riverine Plains.

Read more

Learn more about the Southern NSW Hub 2021 outcomes.