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Thursday 27 March 2025
Drought support for south west farmers
Agriculture Victoria continues to support drought-affected farmers in south west Victoria with an ongoing program of events. Check out the events being delivered as part of the Drought Support Package.
Stay up to date with what’s on at the calendar of events.
Bushfire recovery support
If your business or industry has been impacted by the 2024-25 bushfires in western Victoria, support is available to assist with your immediate and long-term recovery. Upcoming supports include:
- Business Recovery Advisory Service – free business support for impacted businesses, via telephone, online or in-person for impacted businesses, to find the right strategies for long-term recovery.
- Business Bushfire Recovery Grant Program – $5,000 grants to small businesses, including eligible primary producers, that have experienced significant disruptions and revenue losses due to the bushfires.
These programs are jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements for the Western Victoria Bushfires which commenced in December 2024 (AGRN 1166).
Register your interest to receive updates on the 2024-25 Western Victoria Bushfire Recovery grants and other related supports as they become available.
Apply for an On-Farm Drought Infrastructure
Eligible drought-affected farmers in the south west can now apply for up to $5,000 in co-contribution grants to support establishing on-farm infrastructure such as:
- water infrastructure upgrades (pipes, tanks, troughs, dams)
- stock containment areas
- grain and fodder storage.
Visit the dry seasons webpage for more information or call 136 186.
What would an exotic disease outbreak look like on my property?
Dr Jeff Cave, Senior Veterinary Officer, Northern Region
It is difficult to imagine a more stressful scenario for a producer, an exotic disease has been diagnosed on their property – what happens next?
Naturally there are numerous possible scenarios and the approach taken would vary according to the specific disease. A series of documents known as AUSVETPLAN are in place to guide the process to help ensure a consistent, successful outcome.
In general, the producer’s property would be quarantined to limit the chance of the disease spreading to other properties.
Further samples may be collected to confirm the diagnosis and to help ascertain the extent of its spread on the property. These would be tested at the CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) at Geelong.
Epidemiological information, such as recent movements on and off the property, would be collected to help guide tracing and surveillance activities on other properties.
An Incident Control Centre would be established at a suitable location in a nearby town, whose activities would be directed by a State Control Centre.
Infected premises operations would be put into place to eradicate the disease on the property and to ensure contaminated material doesn’t leave the property.
This would vary according to the nature of the disease. If destruction of livestock or property is necessary compensation would be paid.
Local movement controls may be set up through the declaration of restricted areas and control areas.
Eventually, when eradication of the disease had been achieved, proof of freedom testing would be necessary to prove to our trading partners that the disease had been successfully eradicated.
It sounds like a lot, but all of this would be necessary in order to preserve Australia’s multi-billion-dollar livestock industries and to prevent the establishment of a new exotic disease.
Naturally, none of this will be necessary if we don’t allow these diseases to enter Australia and to come into contact with our livestock.
We urge you to report any unusual signs or suspected cases of emergency animal disease immediately to the all-hours Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888. Early reporting increases the chance of effective control and eradication.
For further information contact your local Agriculture Victoria Veterinary or Animal Health Officer.
Webinar recording: Implications of climate change on various Mallee horticultural crops
Presenters were Jeremy Giddings, Irrigation Regional Manager, Agriculture Victoria and Geoff Rix, Manager Salinity and Water Quality, Mallee CMA.
Climate change is a critical issue facing irrigated horticulture in the Victorian Mallee, with increasing temperatures and a water-constrained environment posing major threats.
In recognising the critical importance of maintaining productive and sustainable horticultural industries, the Mallee CMA commissioned this study, with Agriculture Victoria providing project management.
The initial phases of this project looked at modelling the effect of a changing climate on the production of 7 horticultural crops (almond, avocado, wine grapes, table grapes, dried vine fruit, citrus and pistachio).
The final phases began looking at project water requirements of these crops under future climate scenarios.
In this webinar recording Jeremy Giddings summarised the findings of both phases of the project and how the results could be used by industry and government.
Duration: 58 minutes (including questions)
Password: Climate
This webinar was presented on Wednesday 26 March at 12 pm. You can find all our climate webinar recordings online.
AgTech Innovators – Episode 8
In the final episode of AgTech Innovators, we are joined by Jane Bunn, meteorologist and founder and CEO of Jane's Weather.
Jane discusses her journey in AgTech, how she started her weather app to provide detailed weather information for farmers and other industries and talks about the challenges she faced as a female founder and the importance of networking.
What's On
Details about these events and more can be found our website.
Leading farm teams
A hands-on workshop from 9.30 am to 4 pm to boost leadership, motivate teams, and enhance farm management with practical strategies.
- 7 April, Skipton TBC
- 8 April, Hamilton TBC
- 9 April, Casterton TBC
- 10 April, Warrnambool TBC
Weathering the dry: a farmers' gathering
Join us for dinner and discussion on drought. Connect with farmers, discuss feed, water and strategies to manage the dry season.
- 8 April, 6:30 - 9:30 pm, Gellibrand River Hotel, 20 Old Main Road, Gellibrand. Register now.
Smart business management: budgeting and financial planning for resilient farms
Join us for a workshop on budgeting, cash flow, and financial planning to boost farm resilience.
- 7 April, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Port Fairy Community House, 5 Railway Place, Port Fairy. Register now.
- 8 April, 9 am - 12 pm, Archie Graham Centre, 118 Timor Street, Warrnambool. Register now.
How to get your business and people through the drought
Join us for a workshop and pizza night. This session will provide you with the tools and strategies needed to build resilience and get through the drought.
- 1 April, 10 am - 3 pm, Camperdown Golf Club, Sadlers Road, Camperdown. Register now.
- 2 April, 10 am - 1:30 pm, The Koroit Stables, 124 High Street, Koroit. Register now.
- 4 April, 7-9:30 pm, Hampden Hotel, 228 Manifold Street, Camperdown. Register now.
Drought feeding: nutrition basics in tough times with Jillian Kelly
Beef and sheep farmers, come to a free managing livestock session with experienced veterinarian Dr. Jillian Kelly of Animal Health and Nutrition Consulting.
- 1 April, 9:30 - 1:30 pm. Casterton Sandford Football Netball Club - Island Park, Casterton. Register now.
- 1 April, 6 - 9 pm. Hamilton Golf Club – 170 Rippon Rd, Hamilton. Register now.
- 2 April, 9:30 - 1:30 pm. Penshurst Memorial Hall, 21 Martin Street, Penshurst. Register now.
- 2 April, 6-9 pm. Mortlake Recreation Reserve, 99 Officer Street, Mortlake. Register now.
- 3 April, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm. Beaufort Community Bank Complex, 39 Park Road, Beaufort. Register now.
Webinar – Soil moisture, monitoring wind erosion and seasonal outlook
Join us online Thursday 10 April at noon for a webinar with our seasonal agronomists Dale Grey and Dale Boyd and the Wind Erosion and Land Management project team.
The webinar includes:
- 2024 season review – key insights for the Wimmera Mallee
- 2024 wind erosion and land management observations – findings from the recent Mallee survey
- Satellite technology – how remote sensing is used to monitor ground cover and obtain crop type estimates
- Historical break timings – case studies on Berriwillock and Longerenong
- 2025 seasonal outlook – current soil moisture levels and key insights for the Wimmera Mallee.
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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