After receiving a lot of questions about confinement feeding and drought management in general, Riverina Local Land Services held four Planning For Summer workshops to help farmers make informed decisions and set up a plan.
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The workshops were interactive, allowing landholders to field any questions they had and also share what was working for them which might help others.
District veterinarians and Land Services officers presented on topics including planning to feed, the benefits of confinement feeding, animal health considerations, and guiding decision making.
Riverina Local Land Services mixed farming officer Geoff Minchin said the workshops were designed to help farmers be in the best position possible ahead of what is likely to be a tough summer.
"We wanted to get farmers in the region prepared for the next three months," he said.
"The sessions provided information to help farmers develop a plan to best survive the drought conditions.
"We wanted to give them a demonstration of the NSW DPI's and Local Land Services Drought and Supplementary Feed Calculator App which is designed to help farmers calculate feed rations for sheep and cattle in drought.
"They need to have clear feed and water strategies.
"We showed them how to calculate how much water they currently had and how much they would need.
"This will help them make plans for other water sources even carting water in if they need to."
The workshops were held at West Wyalong, Weethalle, Carrathool and Tumut, areas that needed them most, according to Mr Minchin.
He said the workshops were a success.
"While numbers were good, we rated the success of the workshops on more than that," Mr Minchin said.
"The group discussion and information shared between farmers helped make the workshops a success.
"Also the very open questioning was an indication of engagement and that the farmers were getting useful information."
Mr Minchin said the workshops were also a great opportunity for farmers to put faces to voices on the phone.
"We also wanted to give farmers in the region face-to-face contact with the people that are there to help if they run into trouble," he said.
"Hopefully with the information they received, farmers in the region will develop management plans to see them through the summer."
The workshops also provided LLS the opportunity to share some resources including the NSW DPI's Managing and preparing for drought 2018.
- Visit: www.droughthub.nsw.gov.au
