Workshops for an adaptive farming future

8 July 2025

Farmers from livestock and grain businesses are encouraged to attend 2-day adaptive farming workshops in western and northern Victoria this winter.

Consultant Dr Kate Burke will present the ‘In good times and bad: adaptive skills for your farming future’ workshops funded through the Farm Business Resilience (FBR) program.

Agriculture Victoria Regional Manager Grains South West Felicity Pritchard said Dr Burke’s evidence-based approach will help participants to develop a plan for their farm’s success.

‘Dr Burke brings a wealth of experience in broadacre and mixed farming, crop agronomy, and farm business management,’ Ms Pritchard said.

‘Farmers can learn valuable strategies to manage their businesses, particularly in the current challenging conditions and into the future.

‘Past participants have given excellent reviews and appreciated the time away from the farm to focus on the bigger picture.’

At the workshops Kate will cover a range of topics such as:

• managing climate variability and farm financial performance
• identifying opportunities for growth and mitigate risk
• reviewing key profit drivers and benchmarks
• analysing income versus cost of production
• evaluating your appetite for risk and production potential
• scenario planning for the rest of 2025 and beyond.

Running from 8:30 am for 9 am start to 3 pm, the workshops will take place on:

• 22-23 July, 940 Dookie – Nalinga Road, Dookie College, University of Melbourne, Dookie
• 14-15 August, Agriculture Victoria offices, 124 Chiltern Valley Road, Rutherglen
• 18-19 August, Wonwondah Hall, Wonwondah Hall Road, Wonwondah
• 21-22 August, Dunkeld Bowling Club, 77 Parker Street, Dunkeld.

These workshops are free and include morning tea and lunch, but numbers are limited so registration is essential. For more information, visit www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/events

The FBR Program is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Victorian Government’s Future Agriculture Skills Capacity Fund.

Find more information about available drought support at www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/drought or call 136 186.

Media contact: Anna Ferguson

Phone: 0499 540 475