Damp, cool conditions and shorter days are an ideal time to relax in front of the fire and consider changes that might make your farm easier to manage during seasonal uncertainty, drought or planning for future seasons.
Changes might include upgrading your water supply, installing a stock containment area or changing your business model. All of these can be expensive, time consuming and not without risk. Developing a strategy requires careful planning.
Like any changes on the farm, the starting point in developing a strategy involves having a clear vision of what you want your farm to look like in the future.
Sitting down with your family, discussing and agreeing on a vision and set of goals is an important first step. This can be a challenging and confronting process, particularly when multiple generations are involved. Asking a third party to act as a mediator can be a great help.
An honest assessment of your financial position will aid in decision making, even if that results in you seeking outside employment, contracting, setting up an alternate business model or transitioning out of farming entirely.
A good understanding of the risks to your business is critical when making this assessment. How often has drought affected your farm, what was its impact and when is it likely to happen again? What are the other risks associated with running your business?
Writing stuff down is important, as it encourages everyone to share their ideas and reflect on others’ points of view. It doesn’t need to be fancy, a simple list of dot points noted on a piece of paper, on the fridge or a nearby window is all that is needed. Drawing a simple picture of the future farm is another good option.
Having a large, laminated farm map can be an enormous aid in this process. It can be used to plan out a new layout, locate laneways, locate new dams and design water reticulation systems. Using erasable marker pens means various alternatives can be considered, altered or erased. Taking photos of your map can be a useful way to record your various ideas.
There is no right or wrong way to prepare for seasonal uncertainty and drought. Every farm is different. For some farmers, protecting pastures and maintaining ground cover is the main priority. For others, it may be maintaining their breeding stock or cash flow.
Possible strategies to improve your drought resilience could include:
- increasing on-farm fodder storage of grain, hay, straw and silage.
- upgrading your farm water supply.
- investing in Farm Management Deposits.
- commencing or increasing the trading side of your business.
- sowing drought-tolerant pastures.
- installing a stock containment area.
The last strategy, installing a stock containment area (SCA), has been embraced by farmers across Victoria who have found SCAs a great way to make better use of fodder reserves, speed up feeding, reduce stress and protect soils and pasture from overgrazing.
Many of these strategies are covered in the Farm Business Resilience (FBR) Program.
Farmers can express their interest in the FBR program by visiting the Farm Business Resilience Program web page.
For more information about drought support available visit the drought support page or call 136 186.
Clem Sturmfels is Land Management Extension Officer at Agriculture Victoria.
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