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Thursday 4 September 2025
Drought support for south west farmers
Farmers can access financial assistance and support today to help manage during drought.
Our website provides information on available supports, including financial counselling, mental health and wellbeing services, and links to other organisations that can help.
You’ll also find practical tools, resources and information to help you plan and manage your feed, water and livestock needs.
Plus, find out about upcoming events in your region and online or by calling 136 186.
Regional Investment Corporation loans
RIC variable interest rate for farm business loans is on hold at 5.18% effective 1 August 2025 until 1 February 2026.
Farmers in tough financial times due to situations outside their control from drought, flood or other natural disasters may be eligible to apply for a RIC loan.
RIC’s AgriStarter Loan is also available for new farm businesses or succession planning to keep family farms in the family.
Farmers can restructure up to 50% of their existing debt to improve cash flow to gain some financial breathing space. For more on RIC loans visit ric.gov.au/loans
Crackdown on exotic animal trade progresses
Agriculture Victoria is continuing its crackdown on the illegal network trading in exotic pest animals, with a series of investigations across the state.
A man seeking to breed chameleons has been convicted of 2 counts of keeping a controlled pest animal.
The south-east Melbourne man was found to be seeking to purchase a male chameleon to breed with his female chameleon.
On 3 December 2024, officers executed a search warrant at his residence. Officers identified and seized one green iguana and a mobile phone. As a result of the evidence gathered, he was convicted and fined $10,000.
Should either a chameleon or an iguana escape or be released into the wild, they pose significant threats to the Australian ecosystem. Breeding either of these species would increase that threat.
Image above: female common snapping turtle
Boosting livestock biosecurity through grants
The Victorian Government is backing the next generation of livestock vets, making sure the agricultural sector has the best expertise to keep stock healthy and safe.
Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence recently announced $15 million for 22 projects that will strengthen Victoria’s biosecurity and safeguard our livestock industries as part of the 2025 Livestock Biosecurity Funds Grant Program.
Prevention is key – vaccinate against enterotoxaemia
Dr Jeff Cave, Agriculture Victoria Senior Veterinary Officer
If you keep a calendar with key farm management dates, ‘vaccinate stock’ could be a key entry at this time of year. But why, it’s an annual vaccination after all, isn’t it?
Firstly, with abundant spring growth, losses due to enterotoxaemia, also known as pulpy kidney, become a distinct possibility.
Second, a feature of the enterotoxaemia vaccine is the duration of immunity it provides may be quite short. It may only give 3 or 4 months of protection. Therefore, a booster dose should be given before a high-risk period, i.e. before the beginning of spring.
Young stock in good condition, up to 2 years of age, are most affected by enterotoxaemia; however, deaths in older stock may also occur. Enterotoxaemia is caused by a toxin produced by Clostridium bacteria, which is found in the bowel of normal, healthy cattle and sheep.
Enterotoxaemia occurs when a large amount of readily fermentable feed is present in the gut, leading to the rapid multiplication of bacteria and a lethal level of toxin production.
Due to the rapid progression of the disease, an animal affected by enterotoxaemia will typically be found dead in the paddock. On post-mortem, rapid decomposition of the carcass is seen.
Little can be done to treat an animal affected by enterotoxaemia; therefore, the emphasis should be on prevention. The key to prevention is to ensure all livestock are adequately protected through vaccination.
As with any vaccination program, adult cows and ewes should be vaccinated approximately 1 month before giving birth to give their calves and lambs maternal or passive immunity through colostrum.
Passive immunity typically lasts approximately 6 weeks; after this period, calves and lambs require vaccination to gain active immunity. This is achieved by giving 2 injections at least 4 weeks apart.
Hopefully, all producers will benefit from the upcoming spring conditions without being troubled by the problems they may bring.
For further advice, please contact your local veterinarian, Agriculture Victoria veterinary or animal health officer.
Stockyard Hill farmer pleads guilty to animal cruelty
A Stockyard Hill farmer pleaded guilty to 8 offences relating to animal cruelty and livestock traceability offences at the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced with conviction and a fine of $20,000, with an order to pay $383.33 in costs.
The court also imposed a disqualification order from owning or being the person in charge of sheep for a period of 5 years.
Matthew Fleay pleaded guilty to charges that occurred between October 2023 and March 2024.
Ag Vic Talk season 10 - Supporting children’s mental health in rural areas, with Jacquie Lee
We chat with Jacquie Lee from Emerging Minds about supporting children's mental health in rural areas during challenging times like droughts and bushfires.
Listen now to learn more about supporting your families during times of stress.
In this Farming Safe and Well episode, Jacquie shares valuable insights on:
- Building strong parent-child relationships
- Understanding and managing children's emotions and behaviour
- The importance of maintaining routines
- Effective communication and meaning making
- Creating and utilising support networks.
More drought support
One-on-one farm advisory service
All farmers, anywhere in Victoria, can register for a free consultation with a farm management specialist.
The advisory service offers a session of up to 3 hours (face-to-face or online) and a follow-up call, to help farmers take stock and develop a plan for managing drought conditions.
The advice is suited to your situation, from a consultant that you nominate from the registered panel.
Agronomists, livestock nutritionists, veterinarians, pasture and grazing specialists and farm business advisors, can support you with:
- feed and water budgeting
- farm safety and workload management
- farm business and financial management
- soil health and pasture re-establishment
- animal health and welfare, and more.
For more information about drought support: www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/drought or call 136 186.
CMA Drought Employment Program
Farmers, farm workers and agricultural business employees impacted by the ongoing drought conditions in the south west can now apply to be part of the Catchment Management Authority (CMA) Drought Employment Program.
The program will be available for farmers or farm-dependent workers from 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in south west Victoria including Ararat, Moyne, Colac Otway, Pyrenees, Corangamite, Southern Grampians, Glenelg, Surf Coast, Golden Plains, Warrnambool, City of Greater Geelong and southern parts of West Wimmera.
Eligible local farmers and farm workers can now express interest in being part of the program ahead of a recruitment process via www.ccma.vic.gov.au (Corangamite CMA region) or www.ghcma.vic.gov.au (Glenelg Hopkins CMA region).
Southern Rural Water - Farmer Helping Farmer initiative
Southern Rural Water is seeking expressions of interest from farmers in the Nullawarre region to participate in a program designed to support drought-recovery in the nearby Heytesbury region.
The Farmer Helping Farmer initiative calls an opportunity for farmers with existing private groundwater bores in Nullawarre to work with Southern Rural Water on options to provide water access to nearby farmers in need.
Southern Rural Water Managing Director Cameron FitzGerald encouraged farmers in the region to help explore effective options.
'This is an opportunity for local farmers, with local knowledge, to shape a drought response that could benefit the region for many years to come,' he said.
'Although we’ve seen a slight improvement in conditions in recent months, we still want to support farmers through their recovery curve. Particularly through the upcoming summer period.'
Delivered through $2.5 million in Victorian Government funding, this initiative was informed by input from members of the Premier’s Drought Taskforce, and forms part of a broader drought response.
If the pilot is successful, expansion opportunities could be explored in similar drought-stressed areas across southern Victoria.
The Heytesbury region has been targeted because it’s one of the most water-stressed regions in Victoria, and because it’s close to the South-West Limestone Aquifer. This presents an opportunity to better utilise this high-quality, drought-resilient resource, through the upgrading of existing private infrastructure.
For now, we are calling on landholders in the Nullawarre and Heytesbury regions to provide local knowledge and help develop effective water-security innovations.
A drop-in session will be held at the Nirranda Football Netball Club clubrooms from 4-6 pm on Wednesday, 17 September.
An online session will also be available between 4-6 pm on Monday, 15 September. To register to attend the online session and further details about the program, visit our project page.
What's On
Details about these events and more can be found on our website.
Fodder production in a challenging season
Colac
- Date and Time: Tuesday 9 September from 9 am - 12 pm
- Location: Colac Bowling Club,35 Moore Street
Macarthur
- Date and Time: Wednesday 10 September from 9 am - 12 pm
- Location: Macarthur Recreation Reserve, Hamilton-Port Fairy Road
Needing to produce fodder after the tough season? Or will you be buying in fodder to get through spring? Come along to one of our fodder field days to get the most out of your pasture hay or silage this spring.
Presenter: Frank Mickan - an industry-renowned specialist in fodder and pasture conservation, providing insights into producing high-quality hay and silage.
Topics include:
- how to make the best quality hay and silage
- how fodder quality influences livestock production
- understanding the ensiling process
- including additives
- storage systems and minimising wastage
- feed testing
Virtual drought smokos with Dr Jillian Kelly
Date and time: Tuesday 9 September from 9-10 am
Date and time: Tuesday 23 September from 9-10 am
FREE AND ONLINE
Drought smokos are an hour a fortnight to get away from the paddock and catch up with a group of farmers who are all in the same boat!
We will talk about the science of feeding, how much, which commodities, pros and cons, cost, different options, trigger points and planning.
Dr Jillian Kelly is a vet and nutritionist from Coonamble, in north-west NSW. She ran drought smokos every fortnight through the 2018–20 drought and it made a difference to hundreds of farmers and thousands of livestock.
While you don't get to taste her scones, you do get to learn all that she knows about feeding livestock in tough conditions, and to enjoy an hour of mateship away from the feed cart.
Perennial Pasture Systems annual conference
Date and time: Tuesday 9 September from 8 am - 5 pm
Where: Ararat Town Hall, corner of Barkly and Vincent Streets, Ararat
The conference is titled 'Taking Stock' and is focusing on where our region’s farms are at after a period of low sheep and wool prices followed by very dry conditions.
PPS is also looking at the effect of the PPS project on farm resilience to help get through these tough times. PPS is also looking forward to seeing how members can position themselves to take advantage of changing circumstances in the foreseeable future.
Talk the Talk workshop - Cobden
Date and time: Wednesday 10 September from 10 am - 2 pm
Where: Cobden Football Netball Club, Parrott Street, Cobden
Talking about mental health isn’t always easy—especially when you’re not sure what to say. If you’re a supplier or service provider working in a rural setting, you may have noticed when a customer or client isn’t themselves but knowing how to start that conversation can feel overwhelming.
What you will learn:
- awareness – understanding mental health challenges in farming communities and who farmers are most likely to talk to
- observation – recognising signs that something isn’t right
- strategies and tools – how to have a conversation, what to say, and how to say it
- responding to crisis – what to do if the worst happens
- grief and loss cycle – understanding the emotional impact of crisis and change
- protective factors – practical ways to check in and offer support
Intro to lean and drought support business planning
Date and time: Wednesday 10 September from 12:30-2:30 pm
FREE AND ONLINE
Learn how to strengthen your operations, improve profitability, and drive long-term sustainability with expert insights from Moshie.
What you’ll gain:
- introduction to lean business management and how it applies to your farm business
- Moshie’s tools for identifying waste and improving efficiency to increase profitability and resilience
- simple business planning templates to identify areas for improvement
- straightforward costing tools to improve decision-making and resource management
- strategies for risk management, building drought resilience and long-term business sustainability
- 12 months of access to an exclusive online portal, with workshop resources
Also discover other relevant support programs, including:
- Drought one-on-one advisory service – discover how to sign up for free, personalised business planning support with Moshie’s expert team
- On-farm infrastructure grants
- Look Over the Farm Gate (mental health and wellbeing grants)
Who should attend:
- turf, agriculture and horticulture business owners
- farmers, growers and primary producers
- retail and supply chain operators
- anyone managing business costs and resources
Webinar - hay or grain? Making the right call
Date and time: Monday 15 September from 12 - 1 pm.
FREE AND ONLINE
Join Agriculture Victoria seasonal agronomists Dale Grey and Dale Boyd and Nutrien Ag Solutions Elmore Branch Manager Greg Toomey for a timely and practical webinar designed to help you make informed decisions about cutting cereal crops for hay. They’ll walk you through the key questions and considerations, including:
- estimating hay yields
- timeliness of making hay - effects on quality and quantity
- cost-benefit analysis – the economics of hay v’s grain production
- key factors for making marketable hay
- impact on ground cover and long-term paddock management.
If you're actively considering your options, this session will provide valuable insights to support your decision making on whether to cut your cereal crops for hay or take them through to grain.
Planning for your farm's future - webinar
Date and time: Wednesday 17 September from 5:30 - 7 pm
Free and online
Creating sustainable, profitable farms doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of planning. That’s why our next webinar is bringing in Agriculture Victoria expert Alison Kelly, to answer the question 'now what?' and share actions being taken across the state to lower on-farm emissions while remaining productive and profitable.
Many of these actions also build farm resilience and can help farmers adapt to an increasingly extreme climate. Alison will be joined by Victorian farmers, who will talk through the actions they’re taking now and plan to take in the future, to adapt and thrive.
Hamilton - Farm Safety Day
Farm safe and strong - Practical tips for improving safety on the land
Date and time: Friday 3 October from 9 am - 1:30 pm
Location: Agriculture Victoria Hamilton SmartFarm, 915 Napier Road, Hamilton
Join WorkSafe for a hands-on event dedicated to improving safety and well-being in agriculture – and especially during challenging times. Through expert-led demonstrations and practical advice, attendees will learn safer methods for cattle handling including loading and unloading cattle, preventing Q fever and needle stick injuries.
Whether you’re managing or working on a family farm or a large property, or you are a student in agriculture, this event offers valuable insights and tools to protect your livelihood, your team, and yourself. Come away informed, connected and better equipped for a safer future on the land.
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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