In this episode we are joined by a dynamic farming duo, Danielle Lannin England and Jonathan England, from AgInnovate. With a wealth of experience on-farm and in the wider agricultural industry, they share their advice after experiencing multiple dry seasons on their mixed sheep-grain farm in South Australia.

Danielle, who originally hails from a farming family in southeast WA, is a highly regarded consultant with expertise in farm business management and decision making. She shares her perspective from the farm office and highlights the importance of maintaining community connections during tough times.

Jonathan is a livestock expert with a focus on sheep production systems. He shares how adaptive management approaches, such as 3-week joining and confinement feeding strategies, can help maintain long-term health and productivity for farming operations.

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Top Tips for Season 2025
• Insights from the Grain and Graze Program
• Lifetime Ewe Management
• AgInnovate
• Hub news - Drought Hub

In this episode, we hear about new technologies in landscape management in the rangelands. Our guests are Megan Willis, Senior Research Officer from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and Richard Marver, landscape ecologist and director of Contour Environmental and Agricultural Consulting.

Megan shares insights from her project exploring the use of virtual fencing to manage livestock across rangelands, with benefits including enhanced, real-time herd monitoring and improved mustering efficiency.

Richard shares the potential use of drones to generate landscape-scale data to show pasture health and to help inform decision making for grazing management.

Together, they highlight how new technologies such as these might be integrated into existing agricultural systems to assist producers and landholders manage their livestock operations.  

This episode is brought to you by theSouth-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• SA Drought Hub
• Commercialisation of virtual fencing for livestock - DPIR, SARDI
• Contour Consulting
• Hub news - Drought Hub

Tam Connor, Learning and Development Manager, and Lance Mudgway, Landscape Planner and Hydrologist at the Mulloon Institute, explore the principles of landscape rehydration – using nature-based infrastructure and strategic land management to restore water cycles, enhance water quality, and build ecosystem resilience.

They also discuss the Communities of Practice Project, funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, which is empowering farming communities to adopt rehydration techniques and drive long-term landscape restoration.

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Communities of Practice Project — Mulloon Institute
• Hub news - Drought Hub

CSIRO Plant Physiologist Dr Sarah Rich and Facey Group CEO Tina Astbury discuss the Future Drought Fund project "Improving Sowing Opportunities for Increased Farm Resilience in a Changing Climate". They explore the potential of deep sowing, the current opportunities for adoption, and what’s on the horizon for this practice.

The episode delves into the mixed success of recent trials, highlighting that deep sowing isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution — it depends on soil type, seasonal conditions, and logistical considerations. Given its opportunistic nature, the discussion unpacks what’s needed to make deep sowing work effectively and when it offers the greatest benefits for farmers.

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Long coleoptile wheats – for deep seeding and optimising sowing window options - GRDC
• Evaluating Deep Sowing of Oats in WA Production Systems - Facey Group
• Long Coleoptile Project - Facey Group
• Getting deep and meaningful with canola and wheat - GRDC
• Long Coleoptile Wheat webinar with Sarah Rich (Youtube) - FarmLink
• Hub news - Drought Hub

How can we make the most of rain when it falls, and what alternatives exist when it doesn’t? In this episode, researchers Samantha Viljoen (Murdoch University) and Dr Priscilla Tremain (University of Newcastle) share their innovative work on improving water security in agriculture.

Samantha, a PhD candidate in the Bioplastics Innovation Hub, introduces the SMART SPRAYS project, which is developing a bioplastic-based spray to improve water harvesting and water retention in cropping systems. The SMART SPRAYS project is part of the SW WA Hub's Transformational Program and receives funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, Murdoch University and the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration.

Priscilla, a researcher on the Hydro Harvester project, explains how her atmospheric water generator extracts moisture from the air to create high-quality drinking water – anywhere, anytime. She explores potential applications, from providing water security to rural communities to ensuring self-sufficiency for farmers and livestock.

With seasons becoming more variable, ensuring water availability is critical for communities and agriculture alike. Tune in to learn how these innovative solutions could reshape water management in an increasingly dry climate.

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• SMART SPRAYS: maximising the benefits from rainfall - SW WA Hub
• Hydro Harvester: addressing drinking water shortages in drought-affected communities - University of Newcastle
• Hub news - Drought Hub

Dr Penny Schulz from the SA Drought Hub and Dr Jeisane Accioly-McIllre from Western Beef Association Inc. share insights from their work on drought resilience strategies for livestock feeding.

Penny discusses her pilot program on containment feeding, highlighting its benefits for productivity, pasture management, profitability, and drought preparedness.

Jeisane brings her expertise from the ‘Better Hay and Silage’ workshops, equipping farmers with practical knowledge on producing, storing, and using hay and silage effectively.

Together, they explore the importance of planning, training, and informed decision-making when managing livestock nutrition in dry seasons. They also share key outcomes from their projects and offer valuable tools and questions to help producers navigate feed management during challenging conditions.

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Silage, is it all it’s wrapped up to be? - SW WA Hub
• My Farm Dashboard
• Containment feeding to boost business performance and resilience - SA Drought Hub - Watch this site for the release of the RationApp, yet to be released.
• Easy Beef and Dairy Cattle Diets - Rumen8
• Hub news - Drought Hub

Join UWA’s Professor Shane Maloney and Western Dairy Extension Advisor India Brockman as they delve into the impact of heat stress in sheep and cattle, with a special focus on dairy cows in Western Australia.

Shane discusses the Murdoch University-led project "The Benefits of Shelter Belts", which is evaluating the effectiveness of shelterbelts in WA's South West region.

India introduces Dairy Australia's Cool Cows program. Discover the far-reaching impacts of heat stress, including reduced milk production, low milk protein and fat tests, lower fertility rates, and long-term health issues. Explore why "shade is king" in heat stress management and gain insights into cost-effective strategies for creating cooler environments for your livestock.

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Shade options for livestock - Drought Info
• Shade and shelter project - Meat & Livestock Australia
• Managing heat load and heat stress in sheep and cattle at saleyards - DPIRD
• Cool Cows: manual, 2023 (PDF) - Dairy Australia
• Strategies For Managing Heat Stress - Dairy Australia
• Ellinbank Smartfarm - Agriculture Victoria
• Hub news - Drought Hub

Nic McGregor from AgVise Merredin and Ben Whisson from ConsultAg Kulin discuss the realities of farming in WA’s eastern Wheatbelt, highlighting the importance of getting the basics right: planning, execution, and cost control.

Nic and Ben share strategies for adapting to tough seasons, including building cash reserves in good years, knowing your numbers, and investing in areas like water supplies and crop diversity. Both stress the need for informed decisions, consistent operations, and self-care - because the biggest risk to any farm business is its people (their advice? Book a holiday!).

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Mitigating risk in a dry and variable climate - GRDC
• RiskWi$e – GRDC
• RiskWi$e – The National Risk Management Initiative – Grower Group Alliance
• De-risking seeding program – Adoption of key management practices for the success of dry and early sown crops – Baseline Survey Report (PDF)
• De-Risking the Seeding Program – AG Excellence
• Hub news - Drought Hub

In this episode, Dave Stead from Anasazi Consulting and Phil Smyth from Nutrien Coorow explore the growing array of weather tools and apps available to farmers. With advancements like smartphones and subscription-based services, farmers now have unprecedented access to weather data - but navigating the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming.

Dave and Phil share insights on how to leverage these tools effectively to make informed decisions on-farm. They discuss the rise of localised weather stations, the benefits and limitations of popular apps like CliMate and Meteorlogix, and the importance of understanding trends in weather models.

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Meteologix: Weather for Australia - Swiss Quality Weather Forecasting
• Bureau of Meteorology developments in long-term forecasting accuracy – the implications for autumn sowing - GRDC
• Farming Forecaster: helping farmers make decisions on livestock production - CSIRO
• My Climate View: Innovative climate tool expands to support more farmers - CSIRO
• Five forecast tools to help you make better decisions - Meat & Livestock Australia
• MyClimateView: how past and projected climate data can support on-farm decision making - SW WA Hub
• Your weather questions answered - SW WA Hub
• Australian Bureau of Meteorology
• Yr - Served by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and NRK
• Windy: Wind map & weather forecast
• DPIRD weather stations
• CliMate
• Hub news - Drought Hub

Join Carly Veitch, farm management consultant at AgAsset and President of the Australian Association of Agricultural Consultants (AAAC), along with Ian Donaldson, senior manager of rural valuations at Rabobank, as they delve into the dynamics behind soaring land prices.

In recent years, land values have surged, and with increasingly variable seasons, buying land is becoming a tougher choice for many. Carly and Ian discuss the factors driving these price hikes, the challenges this poses for farmers, and the various options for expanding land access. Ian also shares insights into how pricing differs across regions, particularly in mixed farming areas in the eastern states.

This episode is brought to you by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and is hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Hub news - Drought Hub