IN its capacity as a regional node partner of The Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, a number of Birchip Cropping Group members have been interviewed.
Each one has been given questions on drought resilience, preparedness and innovation – particularly in light of the protracted drought across SA, large parts of Victoria and into the southern Riverina.
The participants – ranging from industry leaders to young farmers just taking over the reins – provides an interesting snapshot of local wisdom based on experiences of drought.
Kyle Pearse
Drought is an inevitable aspect of the climate we farm in. How is your farm business preparing for future droughts, or potential financial shocks within the business? Has the SwarmBot tied into this at all?
Our farm business prepares for droughts by conserving the moisture we get in summer periods. This year is a standout example of how important it is to conserve any moisture we receive through out of season rainfall. Our main strategy for this is weed control and our SwarmBot will certainly play a role in that.
Everything we do in farming we do with the understanding that we never know when it will rain or when it will frost. We place higher value on consistency rather than brilliance, and run a lower input, lower risk system. We don’t need to achieve a brilliant result in the great years but try to flatten the curve so that in the less favourable years our results are more consistent.
Bill Lee
What does drought preparedness mean to you? How do you mitigate drought years?
I am fortunate to have not experienced a severe drought year. However, Dad (Andrew) has, so we always ensure that our farm business is well-diversified to mitigate the risks.
We have always kept the cropping and sheep, and more recently in 2021 brought trucks into the business. This can be a headache logistically but is good for cashflow.
Jason Barrat
Drought is an inevitable aspect of the climate we farm in. How is your farm business preparing for future droughts, or potential financial shocks within the business?
We make sure we always have sheep to diversify. Since I’ve been farming, we haven’t really had a proper drought. We are proactive in making sure we have good stocks of hay. Where our farm is based, we have the Wimmera Mallee pipeline so we are lucky we will always have water for stock.
I’ll admit I’m not a massive fan of sheep, but I certainly do see the value of them and spreading our risk over different crop types. Growing hay for the domestic or export market could also be something we do more of in the future to spread our risk. Now, we only grow enough for our own stock.
Angus Potter
Drought is a constant concern, and we need to be always prepared. Our plan is to have both cropping and sheep enterprises so that we can still make money from the sheep during dry periods in the cropping. However, we must remember that the sheep need to be fed. To prepare for potential dry spells, we store plenty of hay and ensure we have more grain than we need to feed the sheep if it becomes dry.
Lachy McClelland
Farming in the Mallee, having a drought, or low rainfall years are inevitable and something that plays on everyone’s mind. Over the last few years, we’ve been lucky enough to have successful seasons, making the most of that and drought proofing our business has been crucial. We run a no-till operation, and I believe in the drier years it really stands out and proves why we do it. Working closely with our agronomist Matt Bissett from Exceed Ag. Over the last few years, we’ve been able to invest in assets outside of farming which I believe will hold us in good stead should we face a drought.
Diana Wheaton
Managing a mixed farming operation has supported our business with cashflow throughout the years, helping to reduce potential unexpected business financial shocks. Throughout the last few years, we have been extremely fortunate to have had several good years in a row. This has allowed the business to keep upgrading all our machinery, equipment, and infrastructure. One focus of the farm to help drought proof our property due to our livestock numbers was building multiple hay sheds with the aim of having two years’ supply of hay on hand. Likewise, upgrading our on-farm grain storage for stock management.
Will Simpson
We are extremely lucky to have had multiple good years in a row, and I believe taking advantage of that position is crucial in drought proofing our business. Upgrading machinery, equipment, and farm infrastructure to improve efficiency whilst still thriving for quality is an approach that I believe will pay dividends in future, even in the drier years.
Spreading our risk by running livestock is another approach we will continue. Providing flexibility to income by installing feedlot pens is one example of what we have done over the previous few years.
Off-farm planning and investing is another option that we look at and discuss to spread our financial risk. I believe flexibility in thinking and approaches to farming is one of the key aspects to being successful in the agriculture sector.
Brett Hosking
The way we manage summer weeds, crop rotations etc as well as having other income streams such as livestock in our business hopefully add diversity, allowing us to rely less heavily on cropping. Sheep are a lower costs part of the business and are maybe not as time intensive as people think.
We don’t know what the future looks like for our farm succession yet, but we aim to support all our girls in their passions and their dreams, whatever they might be.
Cam Warne
High windrows and an almost perfect start to harvest are welcomed by Cameron but planning for the inevitability of drought is a constant line item in his business planning.
As a farmer you’re really only answerable to yourself, so naturally I’m interested in structuring our farm in a way where we can benefit from the good years and weather the bad. We have been working on setting up some passive income, with financial advisers as well as business advisors, a long-term business and strategic planning adviser and our accountant to mitigate the effects of highly variable seasons. We are looking for more diversity within the business, consolidating on the last few good years and reducing debt.”
As the ute wheels start to slowly crunch over the stubble, Cameron explains the holistic approach he takes to drought preparedness: “It’s not just capitalising on the good seasons – the research tells us timing is everything – but using best practice to conserve water and manage nutrients as well as using strategies such as N banking and carrying grain over, to smooth out some of the peaks and troughs of farming.”
