Sharing practical advice and management skills with fellow farmers is a long held bush tradition and has been the catalyst for a new video drought management series produced by Hunter Local Land Services.
We've been working with drought affected communities for more than two years to connect producers with the best support and advice when it comes to livestock health, feeding and nutrition, pasture management, emergency drought support and local networks on the ground.
Regional Drought Coordinator Maria Cameron said the resilience and passion of local farmers in these trying times is a credit to the community.
"Across the region conditions have been the worst on record, and there's no doubt many producers have made some hard and at times heartbreaking decisions, but they are also building valuable experience and this knowledge bank in itself is a resource we want to tap into and share," said Maria.
"We continue to work with landholders to offer stock feeding advice and technical support but the best promotion for the various drought management strategies is hearing it straight from the horse's mouth as the old saying goes – listening to fellow producers telling their own stories.
"We've been out there while the going is tough to tell the positive stories, talking to locals to find what's worked for them tackling the drought and the fact they are willing to share these stories is amazing and really adds value for other local farmers."
The six videos shared on our Youtube channel and via Facebook, focus on key areas including advanced drought planning, early weaning, feeding, destocking, utilising assistance options, and most importantly the value of networking with neighbours and friends, all aimed to help you with on-farm decision making.
In one of the videos, Rob and Jenny Lee, cattle producers from Merriwa talk about the hard decisions they have had to make during this drought.
"We had a really good line of cattle we had been building up, and looking at the market and the way the weather was and possibly could be, I just made the decision for them all to go," said Rob.
"We were set on a particular way of running our place and then we changed it completely and by reassessing that, we are now realising why didn't we do that years ago? "It's going to make life a lot easier for us – and a lot of that information has come out of these workshops that we have attended." His wife Jenny urged producers to take the time to talk with other farmers, and not be too hard on themselves, as everyone is managing the best they can
"People on the land tend to beat themselves up a fair bit, but when you talk to other people you sometimes think oh well, okay, maybe I am not making too bad of a job of it after all," said Jenny.
The videos are one of the many drought resources developed by Hunter Local Land Services. You can watch the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkJXs5O0C5WmAIsxNNYny6Q
