Late last year, Healthy Land & Water and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries hosted three workshops across SEQ, uniting 78 farmers and industry experts. Supported by QRIDA and RFCS, these sessions equipped landholders with vital strategies for drought management and business resilience, fostering a stronger agricultural community.

 Landholders at Toogoolawah Drought Preparedness & Farm Business Resilience Planning workshop.

		Training and capacity building Three workshops on drought preparedness and farm business resilience planning engaged 78 participants, including 63 landholders and industry representatives, in Boonah, Mulgowie, and Toogoolawah.
		Preparedness & resilience Topics included Queensland’s drought reform process, dry season management, practical considerations for extended dry periods, and developing Farm Business Resilience Plans through self-assessment checklists.
		Partnership & collaboration Workshops were run in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and supported by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) and the Rural Financial Counselling Service.

The end of last year marked a significant stride in supporting farmers across South East Queensland as Healthy Land & Water, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, ran three workshops on drought preparedness and farm business resilience planning.

These workshops, held in Boonah, Mulgowie, and Toogoolawah, brought together 78 individuals, comprising 63 landholders and multiple industry representatives, to fortify the region's agricultural resilience.

Supported by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) and the Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS), these provided an opportunity for all participants, to learn more about:

• Queensland’s new drought reform process and available drought support and assistance from Brian Coe and local RFCS officers, Michael Fagg and Warren Ryan.
• Dry season management including a comprehensive summary from Roger Sneath and Greg Bath (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) on grazing business goals, livestock nutritional requirements, supplement and drought feeding options, costing nutrients, and reading labels.
• Reflections on drought and key practical considerations for managing extended dry and drought conditions from Roger Sneath and Healthy Land & Water Principal Scientist Bruce Lord.
• Landholders worked through self-assessment checklists across the main areas (people, business, land, and production) to evaluate what was working well and identify key risks and areas for improvement that could inform the development of Farm Business Resilience Plans for their properties.

Greg Bath from DAF demonstrating breeder’s nutritional requirements.

Healthy Land & Water would like to give a big thank you to our partners, particularly DAF, QRIDA, RFCS and industry groups for supporting the sessions which aimed to support landholders with practical information and tools to build capacity to better plan for and manage drought and build resilience in their grazing businesses.

The workshops were funded by the Queensland Government’s Natural Resources Recovery Program and the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund SQNNSW Innovation Hub and the Farm Business Resilience Program, which is jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and Queensland Government’s Drought Climate Adaptation Program.