Thursday 10 July 2025

Backing our farmers through the drought 

The Victorian Government is providing more support for drought-affected farmers, announcing an additional $75 million in funding. 

This support was informed by the Drought Taskforce and includes: 

• $35.8 million in Primary Producer Support Payments for farmers in the south west 
• $2 million for the Country Women’s Association of Victoria to deliver household payments to people in the south west
• $5.9 million to extend important statewide technical decision-making support, mental health services, community events, and timely farm debt mediation
• A fee and duty relief package of up to $6.3 million to reduce costs linked to biosecurity and food safety regulations and duties
• Funding to extend existing infrastructure and secure long term water reliability
• $1 million for catchment management authorities to run Drought Employment Programs

Farmers across the state can access the Farm Drought Support Grants Program (previously the On-Farm Drought Infrastructure Grants Program) to fund a range of eligible activities including infrastructure improvements, support for dealing with fallen livestock, water carting and pasture re-establishment.  

Find more information on drought support: agriculture.vic.gov.au/drought or call 136 186. 

Sheep that are nutritionally stressed and in light condition grazing short pastures are likely to be affected by worms and scouring this winter. 

Worms should be considered in all ill-thrifty or scouring sheep, regardless of when the sheep were last drenched. 

To help establish whether worms are the cause of ill-thrift or scouring, it is worth considering the following: 

• nutrition of the sheep including the feed availability, supplemental feeding, and stocking rate 
• class and condition of the sheep including their body condition score 
• drench program including the product/s used and date/s drenched, particularly the time since the last treatment.  

To know for sure, faecal samples from at least 5 affected and 5 non-affected sheep should be submitted for worm egg counts.  

To help manage worms in sheep during winter: 

• provide adequate feed for weaners and lambing ewes on low worm pastures such as those prepared by smart grazing over summer, those previously grazed by cattle, or those used for cropping 
• weaners and lambing ewes need to be in a condition score around 2.5. If lighter, they will need preferential treatment and feeding 
• check worm egg counts by Wormtest (samples from 10 representative sheep) every 4 to 6 weeks through winter 
• confirm the drench worked by Wormtest at the time of drenching and 10 to14 days later. 
• check worm egg counts in lambing ewes about 4 weeks before lambing. 

For further information please contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria animal health or extension staff, or use WormBoss.

Find more information on drought and technical decision-making support at Drought support | Farm management | Agriculture Victoria or call 136 186.  

EOI for Climate Smart Whole Farm Planning Course

When: weekly, beginning on Wednesday 13 August.

This whole farm planning course is perfect for those new to farming or anyone wanting to elevate their knowledge in climate smart farming and how to improve their natural capital for a more sustainable future.

This course will be made up of 7 workshops. There will be 5 farm visits to see how experienced local farmers are managing their natural assets. The VFF will deliver the sixth practical session, and the course will finish with a session completing participants' whole farm plans.

Please note places are limited and submission of an EOI does not guarantee participation. EOI's will be assessed and participants selected by the organisers whose decision will be final.

For further information contact Kirby, kirby@sgln.net.au or 0480 749 731. 

What's On

Here and now workshop – Drouin

When: Tuesday 15 July, 10:30 am to 1 pm.
Where: Drouin Family Hotel, 65 Princes Way Drouin. 

While farming in our region experiences seasonal variability that has challenged most of us, we continue to work towards mitigating risk.  

Join consultant Laura Tweddle and a team of speakers who are passionate to share their knowledge on future planning your feed base and profitability.

Whether change on your farm means increasing intensity of housing, or simply improving feed harvesting and management in your grazing system, this event aims to improve your forage growth potential and paddock performance.

Speakers:

• Laura Tweddle (Aggies Without Borders)
• Jane Bunn (Jane’s Weather)
• Damien Adcock (Barenburg Seeds)
• Donna Woerz (Debenham Australia).

Making a lot from a little: calving and spring tactics

When: Wednesday 16 July, 10 am to 1:30 pm. 
Where: Macalister Demonstration Farm, Riverslea

Field Day presentations by Liz Semmens (Vast Agronomy), Donna Woerz (Debenham Australia), Tony Anderson (Bendigo Bank), Trudi Lang (NEX Solutions, formerly Rural Financial Counselling Service), and a farmer panel from the MID.

Tactics for calving and spring topics on the day include:

• assessing feed available over winter
• assessing feed demand based on current numbers
• options to reduce feed demand
• options for transition cow feeding to maintain optimum health and prevent milk fever
• comparing feeds and calculating the break even prices of different options
• staying on top of finances - using your bank as your bank
• managing cash flow for the whole season ahead.

The farmer panel will share their current situation and how they made decisions to get to now. They will discuss learnings from this season that they will take into the future.

Support services will be available on the day to share information.

Lunch provided.

Webinar - From Feed Test to Feed Budget 

When: Wednesday 23 July, 12:30 pm. 

Agriculture Victoria is inviting livestock farmers to a webinar on working out your additional supplement to get the most of the feed you have.  

Register and receive a free feed test.  

Agriculture Victoria Livestock Extension Officer Nick Linden will discuss feed quality, livestock requirements and how to make the most of what you have. Nick brings extensive expertise in feed management and will offer valuable guidance for farmers feeding and managing livestock.  

Livestock Extension Officer Chris Blore will also talk about the current drought support available.

Calculating on-farm emissions webinar

When: Wednesday 30 July, 5:30 to 7 pm. 
Where: Online. 

Nationally and internationally, governments and companies are making net zero commitments, driving demand for low emissions agricultural products. Understanding your on-farm emissions can help you access emerging markets, understand on-farm opportunities and increase your productivity, all while improving the environment.

In our webinar, agronomist and farmer Cam Nicholson will take you through a new, simple calculator from Agricultural Innovation Australia (AIA) and will give you a step-by-step guide to calculating your on-farm emissions. Cam will be joined by land carers and farmers, who will share their experience and tips for calculating their on-farm emissions. Their learnings and productivity gains may surprise you.

Calculating your on-farm emissions can seem daunting. But knowing your number is the first step in considering how your farm can be sustainable in years to come. Whether you want to inset or offset, knowing your number will help you understand your power in the supply chain.

This webinar is part of an ongoing series of events, including free, sector relevant local training – see what’s available near you here.

Submit your questions for the webinar here.

Decisions that drive drought recovery – Meeniyan

When: Wednesday 27 August, 9 am to 3:30 pm. 
Where: Meeniyan Community Hub, 95 Whitelaw St, Meeniyan. 

A powerful and practical 1-day workshop on how to build resilience, navigate crisis and adapt to change.

Feel confident and equipped to make the decisions necessary to navigate your farm business through the current seasonal crisis/challenges by:

• learning how to navigate competing priorities for limited resources (family, farm and business)
• identifying key resource issues, stressors, risks and opportunities for your farm business
• learning improved decision-making skills and how to manage key priorities – especially when under pressure and stress
• learning skills to rebuild capacity after battling personal/health and business challenges
• connecting to networks that support recovery and resilience.

Morning tea and a light lunch provided. 

Contacting Agriculture Victoria

Call 136 186 from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call (except for mobiles and public telephones).

If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact us through the National Relay Service at 133 677 or visit the National Relay Service.

All contact points can be found at: agriculture.vic.gov.au/about-us/contact-us

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