Preparing for Drought

Planning for drought is a complex and difficult business. Too often, good ideas are forgotten once rain falls and business as usual resumes. This publication aims to capture strategies for future use.

Part A is an overview of strategies that have been successfully used by various enterprises. It is a summary of the trends observed during the compilation of the case studies.

Part B is a series of case studies. The case studies are stories written after on-farm discussions with producers throughout NSW and south-east Queensland. It is a summary of individual experiences and advice offered to others in similar circumstances.

Hear some of the farmers share their learnings in this YouTube playlist.

These stories about what farmers found useful is designed to encourage you to collect other data and consult your own technical and financial specialists to formulate the plan for your enterprise.

Contents

Preface Introduction

Part A

• Chapter 1 Natural Resource Management
• Chapter 2 Personal preparation
• Chapter 3 Financial preparation
• Chapter 4 Livestock
• Chapter 5 Cropping
• Chapter 6 Water security

Part B Case studies

• Central Tablelands
• Central West
• Greater Sydney
• Hunter Valley
• Murray Region
• North West Region
• Northern Tablelands
• Riverina
• South East Region
• Western Region
• Queensland

Appendix 1: What is drought?

Appendix 2: Maintaining Resilience in Grazing Systems: Effective Management of Drought

Appendix 3: Analysis of Booligal Rainfall Records