Stories of recovery and resilience told in new podcast series

24 November 2023

Victorian farmers have faced many challenges in the past 3 years, from dry seasons to COVID-19, bushfires to floods and storms.

Spring 2022 saw record rainfall across Victoria, particularly in the state’s north. Farms were affected by flooding, waterlogging, disease, and disruption to supply chains.

Agriculture Victoria’s new podcast ‘After the flood: stories of farmer recovery and resilience’ explores the recovery required after a natural disaster, the support provided and the resilience of Victorian famers, including how different industries are recovering.

Victoria’s Rural Assistance Commissioner, Peter Tuohey, said listeners will hear from farmers who’ve weathered these storms, their recovery, and what they’ve learned.

‘This podcast series shares real stories of farmers recovering from natural disasters. It's about learning and moving forward together.

‘The episodes highlight the stages of recovery, through disaster to rebuilding, directly from individuals sharing their journeys’, he said.

In Episode 1, we hear from farm business manager Chris Steele as he reflects on flooding impacts to his emerging irrigated horticulture crops on the Murray River and how a realistic cash-flow budget helped navigate the crisis.

In future episodes we hear from apiarists, grape growers, farmers recovering with assistance from rural financial counsellors, individuals affected by family tragedy and those on the road to recovery in a changing climate.

The series has been produced by Agriculture Victoria in partnership with the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) #BuildingFarmSpirit program.

Agriculture Victoria works with Victorian farmers to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.

The NCFH are supporting farmer mental health and wellbeing though a variety of initiatives, with further information on their website.

You can subscribe and listen to ‘After the flood: stories of farmer recovery and resilience’ wherever you get your podcasts:
- Subscribe to AgVic Talk on Spotify
- Subscribe to Apple Podcasts

You can find out more and listen to other AgVic Talk episodes at agriculture.vic.gov.au/agvictalk

To find out more about Agriculture Victoria’s support for those flood-affected, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/floods

Media contact: Makayla Rimington

Phone: 0473 914 662