Thursday 10 July 2025

Drought support

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. 

Australian Government – support in drought 

The Australian Government has support programs to help manage through the impacts caused by drought. Programs are open all the time with no drought declarations needed to apply.   

You may be eligible for more than you realise - know your options and apply early.  

Farm Household Allowance 

• Call the Farmer Assistance Hotline on 132 316 or visit Services Australia to see if you are eligible for up to four years of support. 

Rural Financial Counselling Service 

• Call 1300 771 741 to access free, confidential and independent financial counselling if you’re an eligible primary producers or small businesses experiencing, or at risk of, financial hardship. 

Concessional loans 

• Call 1800 875 675 to find out about a low-cost RIC loan if you’re an eligible farmer or farm-related small businesses in financial need. 

Farm Management Deposits 

• Talk to your accountant about drawing down on any farm management deposit account you may have. 

Tax support 

• Call 1800 806 218 to ask the ATO for more time to lodge and pay tax or talk to a registered tax professional about other concessions. 

Social support and wellbeing 

• Call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 for immediate support or visit Head to Health for a list of other services that can help. 

Visit drought.gov.au to see if these programs could work for you too.  

Winter worm burdens in sheep

Dr Jeff Cave, Senior Veterinary Officer, Northern Region 

Worms and scours can be a significant problem in weaners and lambing ewes, especially with limited feed and the cold stress of winter. 

Winter conditions provide ideal conditions for the survival of worm larvae on pastures. What is more, feed may be short.  

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 at https://wormboss.com.au/ 

Find more information on drought and technical decision-making support at agriculture.vic.gov.au/drought or call 136 186.  

Workshops for an adaptive farming future

Farmers from livestock and grain businesses are encouraged to attend 2-day adaptive farming workshops in western and northern Victoria this winter.

Consultant Dr Kate Burke will present the ‘In good times and bad: adaptive skills for your farming future’ workshops funded through the Farm Business Resilience (FBR) program.

Agriculture Victoria Regional Manager Grains South West Felicity Pritchard said Dr Burke’s evidence-based approach will help participants to develop a plan for their farm’s success.

‘Dr Burke brings a wealth of experience in broadacre and mixed farming, crop agronomy, and farm business management,’ Ms Pritchard said.

‘Farmers can learn valuable strategies to manage their businesses, particularly in the current challenging conditions and into the future.

‘Past participants have given excellent reviews and appreciated the time away from the farm to focus on the bigger picture.’

At the workshops Kate will cover a range of topics such as:

• managing climate variability and farm financial performance
• identifying opportunities for growth and mitigate risk
• reviewing key profit drivers and benchmarks
• analysing income versus cost of production
• evaluating your appetite for risk and production potential
• scenario planning for the rest of 2025 and beyond.

Running from 8:30 am for 9 am start to 3 pm, the workshops will take place on:

• 22-23 July, 940 Dookie – Nalinga Road, Dookie College, University of Melbourne, Dookie
• 14-15 August, Agriculture Victoria, 124 Chiltern Valley Road, Rutherglen
• 18-19 August, Wonwondah Hall, Wonwondah Hall Road, Wonwondah
• 21-22 August, Dunkeld Bowling Club, 77 Parker Street, Dunkeld.

These workshops are free and include morning tea and lunch, but numbers are limited so registration is essential. For more information, visit www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/events

The FBR Program is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Victorian Government’s Future Agriculture Skills Capacity Fund.

Find more information about available drought support at agriculture.vic.gov.au/drought or call 136 186.

Victorian Drought Freight Network

The Victorian Drought Freight Network will help drought affected farmers to move critical grain and fodder to farms in the south west.  

Developed with the Department of Transport and Planning, Victorian Farmers Federation and the Livestock and Rural Transport Association of Victoria - it will expand road networks for fodder transport in south west Victoria.  

Find out more at Victoria Emergency Drought Network Pre-Approved Permit-Based Scheme | NHVR  

What's On

Details about these events and more can be found on our website.

Winchelsea – Healthy, wealthy and wise rural road show

When: Friday 18 July, 10 am - 3 pm 
Where: Winchelsea Shire Hall and Community House Precinct

Featuring presentations, scam awareness, Council on the Aging (COTA), and Ambulance Victoria Defib session.

Grazing table, tea and coffee supplied. Enquiries to Rose on 03 5261 0600.

Here and now workshops

When: Tuesday 15 July, 10:30 am - 1 pm 
Where: COPACC - Colac Otway Performing Arts & Cultural Centre, 95-97 Gellibrand Street, Colac

When: Tuesday 21 August, 10 am - 2 pm 
Where: The Flying Horse, 10691 Princes Highway, Warrnambool

Join local and national speakers to discuss practical and tangible tools for planning your forage base going forward.

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

Workshop 1 organised by Aggies without Borders

Presenters: Jane Bunn, Phil White, Laura Tweddle, and CropX

Talk the Talk

When: Tuesday 22 July, 8:30 am - 3 pm 
Where: Harrow Golf Club

A free workshop to help community leaders and farm supplier and service providers support people facing mental health challenges with confidence and care.

Presented by Maggie Bridgewater from the Rural Financial Counselling Service.

For enquiries and booking, call 0422 061 891 or 0408 349 532

Webinar – Calculating on-farm emissions 

When: Wednesday 30 Jul, 5:30-7 pm

Agronomist and farmer Cam Nicholson will take you through a new, simple calculator from Agricultural Innovation Australia (AIA). Cam 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.

Submit your questions for the webinar here.

Decisions that drive drought recovery

When: Wednesday 30 July, 9 am - 3:30 pm 
Where: Darley Civic and Community Hub Pavilion

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

Topics:

• 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.

Enquiries: Leigh Crocker, ION Group 0419 359 409

In good times and in bad: adaptive skills for your farming future – Wonwondah and Dunkeld

When: Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 August, 8:30 am - 3 pm 
Where: Wonwondah Hall, Wonwondah Hall Road, Wonwondah

When: Thursday 28 and Friday 29 August, 8:30 am - 3 pm 
Where: Dunkeld Bowling Club, 77 Parker Street, Dunkeld.

Livestock and grain farmers are invited to participate in a 2-day workshop to help future proof your farm. Develop practical strategies to manage climate risk, build resilience and shape a stronger, more adaptable business.

Events include morning tea and lunch.

Numbers are limited. Registration is essential.

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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