It must have been comforting for farmers at the Farming After the Drought (FAD) workshop at Sheep Hills to see the day’s facilitator enter the room wearing gumboots!
Compared to the somber mood at an initial FAD workshop held in March, farmers at the June  21 meeting were upbeat and keen to hear about what they could do to help their businesses recover after two poor season. No doubt the puddles outside had a part to play in the reinvigorated feeling in the room.
The Sheep Hills FAD workshop held last month was one of 12 meetings funded by the GRDC to support growers in the Southern Region who had suffered the effects of drought.
Other workshops were held at Quambatook, Berriwillock, Donald, Woomelang, Nhill, Normanville and at Wolseley in the upper south east of South Australia.
Delivered by BCG, each meeting included information, tools and tips on how growers could manage their businesses when financial recovery was a priority.
Topics covered included nitrogen management, climate models, the cost of production and pests, weed and disease management.
At last month’s meetings, consultant Kate Burke, encouraged farmers to identify both their strengths and weaknesses and to think carefully about their costs.
“It’s important to make a budget and to keep going back to it to see how your tracking throughout the year,” she said.
At each workshop a local agronomist or adviser was invited to present, ensuring the information being delivered was relevant and localised.
Dr Burke said despite the challenges farmers were currently navigating, the response to the workshops was positive.
“It was encouraging to hear them say that they would be re-examining their costs and to hear about some of the strategies their were implementing to manage risk and make the most of this season,” she said.
