Dry Season Resources

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

In this episode, Coorow farmer Rod Birch and Yuna farmer Jess Grove share their experiences managing extreme seasonal variability in Western Australia’s northern wheatbelt. With 2023 marking the lowest rainfall on record, and 2021, 2022, and 2024 presenting vastly different conditions, Jess and Rod discuss their strategies for adapting to these challenges, capturing gains in productive years, and building resilience for drier ones.

Jess explains how her 2023 experience led to important adjustments, such as avoiding high-risk crops like canola and lupins in the absence of summer rain and switching to shorter-season varieties when rains finally arrived. Meanwhile, Rod shares how past good seasons allowed him to strengthen his business through strategic investments, and how thorough planning helps him make well-ranked decisions, even under adverse conditions. His approach, grounded in “optimistic realism,” emphasizes balancing risk, reducing costs, and prioritising long-term resilience.

Jess and Rod also delve into practical measures like improved water-use efficiency, addressing soil constraints, and enhancing technology to keep input costs low during lean years. Both Jess and Rod highlight the value of community connection, with initiatives like the “barefoot bowls day” that Jess organised to relieve stress and foster support.

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

• Reducing costs and forward planning during a dry year (Video) - Rod Birch
• De-Risking the Seeding Program – AG Excellence Alliance
• 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)
• Hub news - Drought Hub

In this episode, we explore how changing rainfall patterns are reshaping seeding strategies and risk management across Australia.

Our guests are:

1. Rachel May, Farming Systems Adoption Officer for the South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, who leads the “De-risking the Seeding Program.” This initiative supports 14 farming groups in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia (including Facey Group and Corrigin Farm Improvement Group) to improve dry seeding practices.
2. Peter Newman, a farm business consultant with Planfarm, is based in Geraldton, WA. As WeedSmart’s Western Extension Agronomist, he shares valuable insights on weed management during dry seeding.

We discuss whether it’s time to rethink approaches to the opening rainfall, and if less risky crops like wheat should be sown before canola. Peter also reflects on lessons from the dry seasons of 2006 and 2007 in the Northern Agricultural region.

The “De-risking the Seeding Program”, funded through the Future Drought Fund, is in its early stages, with a recent survey highlighting the main drivers and knowledge gaps around early sowing.

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

• Time of sowing fact sheet: when to sow wheat to minimise risk – Western region – GRDC
• De-Risking the Seeding Program – AG Excellence Alliance
• Benchmarking resources - Planfarm
• WeedSmart Australia - Industry Voice On Weed Control
• 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)
• Hub news - Drought Hub

In this episode, Mullewa farmer John Flannagan and Tom Holcombe, Field Operations Lead at SwarmFarm Robotics, discuss the benefits of using SwarmFarm robots in WA's northern wheatbelt.

John shares how the addition of two SwarmFarm robots, alongside a WEED-IT precision sprayer, has significantly reduced labour, chemical, and fuel costs on his family’s farm. The conversation highlights how these technologies have not only boosted operational efficiency but also helped conserve valuable soil moisture.

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

• Clocking up a week's work in just one day - Groundcover (GRDC)
• Fallow tool for the low-rainfall zone - Groundcover (GRDC)
• Adaptation to climate change through strategic integration of long fallow into cropping system in a dryland Mediterranean-type environment - ScienceDirect
• Integrating long fallow into wheat-based cropping systems in Western Australia: Spatial pattern of yield and economic responses - ScienceDirect
• Bots on the ground: farming's new army - Groundcover (GRDC)
• Hub news - Drought Hub

In this episode, we explore strategies to navigate the evolving challenges of livestock management while boosting productivity and system resilience.

Chapman Valley farmer Jason Stokes shares his approach to managing seasonal variability, including break conservation, confinement feeding, and diverse pasture use.

Daniel Real from DPIRD delves into the Feed365 and Pasture365 projects, highlighting innovative solutions to provide year-round feed and minimise reliance on supplementary feeding during critical feed gaps.

The Pasture365 project received funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

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

• Drought resilient landscapes with profitable native shrub and legume systems across southern Australia — Fitzgerald Biosphere Group
• Feedbase planning and budgeting tool - Meat & Livestock Australia
• Confinement feeding - Meat & Livestock Australia
• Pastures365 - Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub
• FEED365 - DPIRD
• FEED365 - Grower Group Alliance
• Hub news - Drought Hub