Drought

Ongoing and widespread dry conditions across much of south eastern Australia has necessitated a comprehensive drought response from the dairy industry.  DPI Dairy Extension teams from across the state have been key players in this response.

Dairy farmers are the key target audience, however providing support to Service Providers and rural communities is also an important objective of the drought response.

The aim of the drought response is to ensure that the dairy industry has sufficient access to technical, financial and social support to assist their businesses respond to drought conditions and enter the recovery phase.

Individual farmers were always the target as the ultimate beneficiaries of any drought response activities and were reached via a number of different pathways.

A range of extension methods have been used ie: group extension, 1:1’s and media (print and radio).  Apart from events that have been initiated and organised by DPI, DPI staff have had a number of guest speaking roles at events organised by other community or industry groups.

Methodology

Previous experience has clearly shown the benefits of having a response that is consistent and co-ordinated across all sectors of the dairy industry.

Collaboration and co-operation between key dairy industry stakeholders has been the cornerstone of providing a successful drought response in 2006/07.

This has helped to provide a united response, avoid duplication and access to a larger pool of resources.

Individual methodologies have differed from region to region across the state, but the common theme has been the involvement of all key stakeholders at the strategic and tactical levels.

While the stakeholder groups have provided an excellent vehicle for industry-wide collaboration, it was the critical mass of DPI staff who took the lead role in co-ordinating the development and delivery of many of the drought response activities.

Initiatives derived by industry were often fed into smaller working groups led by a DPI extension officer and developed into a drought response activity.