Building drought resilience in South Australia – the SA Drought Hub podcast

Supporting South Australia's early to mid career farmers takes you behind the scenes of farmer-led learning across the state.

In this episode, facilitators Mel Fraser, Michael Brougham and Felicity Turner share insights from the early to mid career farmer groups delivered by the SA Drought Hub and its partners, highlighting how peer-to-peer discussions are supporting practical decision-making, building confidence, and helping farmers navigate seasonal challenges within a supportive network.

From planning for dry conditions to exploring new approaches in soil, livestock and farm business management, these groups are creating space for the next generation of farmers to connect, learn, and take action.

Are you an early to mid career farmer wanting to get involved? With seven groups across the state and more to come, you can learn more here and reach out to your local group: https://sadroughthub.com.au/project/hub-projects/supporting-early-to-mid-career-farmers-across-south-australia/

Each year, millions of dollars' worth of grain is left in paddocks due to harvest losses.

In this episode, Independent Machinery Specialist Brett Asphar of Specialised Ag joins the SA Drought Hub podcast to unpack the practical steps growers can take to get the most out of their harvesters this season.

Brett shares a straightforward approach to:

• Adjusting headers to reduce grain loss

• Improving machine performance and fuel efficiency

• Calibrating loss sensors the right way

• Tweaking setup for lighter crops

• Why slowing down can actually boost thrashing and separation

Whether you're facing light crops this season or simply looking to fine-tune your setup, Brett’s insights offer a real world, Australian perspective on harvesting smarter, not harder.

For further information on header setup:

• GRDC's Harvester Set-Up Guide
• GRDC's Harvest Resources
• BCG's video: Harvester front loss with Ben White from Kondinin Group
• BCG's video: Rotor loss with Kassie van der Westhuizen from Goldacres

In this episode, Drew Radford is joined by consultant Mick Faulkner from AgriLink and the Mid North High Rainfall Zone (MNHRZ) Farming Systems Group. 

The podcast explores the outcomes of frost risk management trials at Farrell Flat, a high-risk “Red Zone” in South Australia’s Mid North, and dives into how trial work, supported by the SA Drought Hub through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, is helping growers improve decision-making around frost-prone paddocks.

The project, undertaken in a frost-prone cropping zone, aimed to investigate sowing time, crop density and variety selection, assess the impact of ice-nucleating bacteria, trial dual-purpose cereals for resilience, and explore how zoning (Green, Amber, Red) can guide farm planning and financial risk management.

Mick explains the innovative trial design, including the role of canopy density, soil type, and crop nutrition in frost outcomes. He also outlines how growers can identify frost zones using topography, yield maps and historical knowledge.

Growers can also access dry season information for crop and pasture management here. The resources on this page have been collated by the SA Drought Hub team and are of relevance to SA farmers and regional communities. They are to assist in decision making and potential practice change to build drought preparedness and resilience.

In this episode, Drew Radford is joined by Lucy Porter; SA Drought Hub Regional Soils Coordinator, and Mary-Anne Young; former Soils Officer with the Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA), to explore the current drought conditions across South Australia and ways to manage soils in dry times.

They unpack how this dry spell compares to previous seasons, key considerations before taking action to manage your soil, proactive strategies to prevent erosion, and what to do when erosion becomes a critical concern.

Growers can also access dry season information for soil and land management here. The resources on this page have been collated by the SA Drought Hub team and are of relevance to SA farmers and regional communities. They are to assist in decision making and potential practice change to build drought preparedness and resilience.

Join Chris Davey of Next Level Agronomy and WeedSmart Australia, as he talks tips for managing a dry season, herbicide safety and navigating potential residues at seeding time.

Growers can also access dry season information for crop and pasture management ⁠here⁠. The resources on this page have been collated by the SA Drought Hub team and are of relevance to SA farmers and regional communities. They are to assist in decision making and potential practice change to build drought preparedness and resilience.

Join Michael Cutting, Murraylands and Riverland LandscapeBoard Team Leader Sustainable Agriculture, as he talks water-use requirements and irrigation decision-making across various horticultural industries.

Join Rachel May, Jeanette Long, and Dr Caitlin Evens as they discuss best practice extension methodologies, and why extension training is helping improve extension and adoption in SA.  

Extension isn’t just about delivering information—it’s about engaging people, addressing their specific needs, and creating an environment where learning thrives, trust is built and decisions are made about practice change or adoption.

Hear from the SA Drought Hub team on the drought resilience and adoption initiatives and plans for the SA Drought Hub. Join Dr Steve Lee, SA Drought Hub Director, Tony Randall, SA Drought Hub Knowledge Broker, and Rachel May, Farming Systems Specialist, Adoption Officer, as they discuss hub projects on de-risking the season, decision making, containment feeding, managing livestock and more.   

If you have livestock in containment ahead of the season break, what do you do if the rain doesn’t come?

This episode of the SA Drought Hub podcast explores the considerations around keeping sheep in containment in a dry season, how to decide when to let them out before lambing, and what you need to do if you don’t have any green pasture ready for their release.

Host Drew Radford speaks to Deb Scammell from Talking Livestock, an agricultural consultancy focused on ruminant nutrition and production, and Josh Hancock, a sheep producer at RL Hancock & Sons in Reedy Creek, near Lucindale.

Deb has been involved the SA Drought Hub project Containment feeding to boost business performance and resilience and has advised producers on containment feeding across the state. Josh offers first-hand experience, having run a containment lot for three seasons on his 3000-acre enterprise producing cross-bred lambs.

Producers can also access dry season information via the hub’s Knowledge Bank, including resources on containment feeding, feed budgeting and managing a winter feed gap.

With conditions drying out in 2023, many producers are concerned about whether their feedbase will get them through the season.

In this episode of the SA Drought Hub podcast, we hear from the University of Adelaide’s Associate Professor Matt Denton about the project he’s leading on feedbase management for improved drought resilience in low to medium-rainfall regions.

Matt is joined by Brenton Kroehn, who runs Borung Poll Merino Stud near Waikerie. Brenton shares his experiences as a project partner providing trial and demonstration sites, and offers insights into feedbase management to help protect against the worst effects of drought.

The feedbase project – which complements the hub’s ‘Mixed species pastures demonstration sites’ project – aims to help producers extend the pasture growing season and increase pasture ground cover to protect soils. Means to achieve this include better-adapted pasture species and pasture mixtures, and improved use of technology for pasture establishment and management.

The work is funded by the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, with additional support from the SA Drought Hub.