Senator The Hon. Murray Watt Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister for Emergency Management Labor Senator for Queensland

Senator Jana Stewart Labor Senator for Victoria

Australia’s farmers will be able to access proven practices and technologies to make their businesses more resilient and sustainable as conditions dry, thanks to a series of grants from the Future Drought Fund.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt and Labor Senator for Victoria Senator Jana Stewart recently announced over $1 million in targeted funding for Victoria’s north-west.

The Extension and Adoption of Drought Resilience Farming Practices grants would enable farmers and regional communities to build better drought practices into their businesses.

“Drought is a normal part of the Australian landscape, but we know we will see more frequent and more intense droughts thanks to climate change,” Minister Watt said.

“Farmers listen to other farmers, so these grants will mean farmers can share practices and tools that will shore up businesses before the next dry hits.

“I know that many parts of Australia are still dealing with the aftereffects of last year’s floods, but I also know that the next drought is always around the corner.

“What drought resilience looks like will be different from place to place, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

“We’re investing $13 million from the Future Drought Fund, through the Extension and Adoption of Drought Resilience Farming Practices program to provide 18 grants to organisations and farmers across Australia, which will enable a range of projects to go ahead.”

This includes a $840,000 grant towards Mallee Sustainable Farming – promoting adoption of proven soil management practices to significantly build the resilience of farming systems to drought for over 700 farmers directly engaged. The project will support to trial on-farm demonstrations, share experiences through "peer to peer" learning, and contribute to a dedicated online “community of practice innovation platform” for sustained adoption.

Another project aims to transfer knowledge of proven practices to be prepared for droughts. Farmers across the north-west region in Victoria will be supported through continuous learning and knowledge building on crop agronomy practices and strategic decision-making skills. This will allow farmers, their support networks and local communities to be resilient to drought and ensure good stewardship of agricultural lands.

“Australia’s farmers are innovative and independent. We’ve already seen how our farmers are adapting to the changing climate.” Minister Watt said.

"These initiatives mean proven ideas and technologies can spread further, readying agribusiness to carry on through the hard times.”

The Extension and Adoption of Drought Resilience Farming Practices program is part of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund which provides $100 million each year for programs and projects to support farmers and regional communities to build their drought resilience.

For more information, including the full list of Extension and Adoption of Drought Resilience Farming Practices grant recipients, visit:

https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/farm-food-drought/drought/future-drought-fund/extension-adoption-drought-resilience-farming-practices-grants

Quotes attributable to Senator for Victoria Jana Stewart:

“Growing up in Victoria’s northwest, I know how adaptive and responsive Victorians can be during the hard times. These projects will equip local agribusiness with the necessary knowledge and skills for when our regional communities need it most.”

"Projects funded under the Future Drought Fund provide unique and accessible supporting to farmers in Victoria’s northwest, supporting the trial of new ideas and technologies and building our state’s resilience.”