What can you do now to prepare for the next drought?

That may be a year away or decades, but history (over 140 years rainfall records for much of NSW) will almost certainly repeat itself.

No one can predict if future droughts will be worse than previously experienced. But this current good conditions provides an opportunity to better prepare for the next tough conditions even given unpredictability.

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Memories of the recent drought remain, but one is clear: it's best to have strategies now to minimise impacts of future ones. Examples of plans to help cope with future droughts, while at the same time make good income when conditions are good, follows.

Cropping wise efficient fallow water capture and storage is generally number one consideration. While even efficient fallow water capture was unable to help some of the worst affected areas in the past drought, for many it did make the difference between at least a passable crop and no crop.

A lot of research, for example NSW DPI and CSIRO, notes that over a run of seasons efficient capture of fallow moisture is worth around 1.0 t/ha extra yield per cereal crop. In grazing crops it is often the difference between no winter feed and useful winter feed.

Part of efficient water capture is to save what may already be there at harvest of the current crop. Stubble retention, not only for water capture and slowing of evaporation of water close to the surface, but as the recent drought has shown for prevention of wind erosion.

Nothing is more soul destroying than countless severe wind erosion events, especially prone where crops or pastures were totally grazed off into spring.

Part of avoiding bare paddocks is planning livestock feed and removing stock well before paddocks are totally grazed out.

Even paddocks where around 0.5 t/ha drymatter had been retained, with grazing embargoed beyond that point, reductions in wind erosion were generally enormous. Having even a basic ability to feed budget helps grazing management and avoiding overgrazing.

Widening the crop sowing window can also help in drought years, given suitable varieties for different sowing opportunities, provided there is at least reasonable subsoil moisture.

This also helps in some wet years where earlier sowing allowed for establishment before sowing conditions became too wet. Early sowing in a dry year can assist with crops developing deeper and more extensive roots to access soil water.

As livestock and dual purpose crop operators, there commonly are many aspects of upgrading that is likely to help for future tough times.

For example since the drought breaking we and our neighbours, have, via drilling contractors John and Sam Keen from Bendemeer, found good water at over 200 metres depth. Ours has been an area previously regarded as poor for ground water. While expensive by the time set up with tanks and troughs, this upgrade will be enormously valuable in future droughts.

Building and filling a new hay shed has also trebled our stored fodder reserves for use in future dries, as well as to help finish livestock in favourable times but when feed can often be a bit short. Future upgrading for us includes what is increasingly being appreciated as important, setting up a minnie feed lot. Not only is this important for finishing livestock but as part of better protecting groundcover levels.

The last drought emphasised the importance of retaining sufficient groundcover, not only for protecting soil from erosion risk, but for pasture recovery when it broke. An example was research at Tamworth DPI research centre.

Growth in a Premier digit grass stand quickly provided over 4.0 t/ha drymatter. In comparison pasture like lucerne with no ground cover grew leas than 1.0 t/ha over the same recovery period. Perhaps for the future rainfall forecasting will improve. High standard short medium and long term (for example a year) could be a great help in planning crop and livestock strategies. Its difficulty remains a major issue.

Next week: Importance of acid soil tolerant crop and pasture varieties.

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