With a slight reprieve from lockdowns, the record 2020 season under our belt and green grass on the ground, most producers in the region are currently enjoying a bit of a hiatus from high stakes decision making - with exception of course to decisions around sowing.
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For many, the 2019 drought has left more than just a change to their bank balances, it has affected the way they view their water assets on farm and many lessons have been learnt around how to look after their enterprises and their farm environments when we don't have much of that lovely wet stuff around.
We all know that decision making under high stress situations is difficult and less effective.
That's why, now is a great time to start considering how you will handle the next dry period, which we know will be just around the corner.
For many, the 2019 drought has left more than just a change to their bank balances, it has affected the way they view their water assets on farm ...
A good place to start is to work backwards - what, at the end of that dry period do we want our farms to look like?
From there, the options might become obvious.
For example, many "drought-lots" popped up last drought to conserve groundcover, prevent the pugging of dams, preserve biodiversity and to enable the efficient supply of clean water and feed to livestock.
Perhaps you need a bore or to fence off a dam and install water troughs.
Another benefit that mostly got overlooked was the impact of these water strategies for our native wildlife.
I saw many twitter pics during the drought of birds, lizards, wallabies and even echidnas taking advantages of stock troughs.
Support for drought preparedness is still available and will become more available now with the creation of the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Hub as part of the Federal Government's Future Drought Fund and as we all move away from reactive to proactive decision making around drought.
Holbrook Landcare Network is currently conducting a series of Community Catchup's to build an understanding of people's needs when it comes to managing water on farm.
This will inform work that the Murray Local Land Services will be carrying out over the coming 12 months to support producers design their own water management strategies.
If you'd like to take part in these Catchups, please contact us at https://holbrooklandcare.org.au/
For the latest news on the activities of the Holbrook Landcare Network visit its Facebook page.