Managing resources in a drought

Improving farm management practices can help you recover more quickly from drought.

Drought feeding and management of livestock

The sheep and beef drought feeding and management books with other related livestock feeding resources, tools and links can now be found on feeding livestock.

Fodder and stockfeed requirements

Summer and dry conditions often mean Victorian farmers have to source fodder and livestock feed from other states and regions. This can pose biosecurity threats.

Biosecurity threats associated with the importation of livestock feed and fodder pose a serious risk to plant and animal industries in Victoria.

Stock containment areas

Stock containment areas (SCAs) enable farmers to fence off part of the farm to hold, feed and water livestock in tough conditions such as drought and after a bushfire.

SCAs deliver a range of benefits during droughts, including minimising soil erosion, enabling faster pasture recovery, limiting the spread of weeds and allowing for good stock management.

Case study videos

Watch videos on dry weather farming.

Case studies

Animal health and welfare

Farmers have legal obligations to protect the welfare of livestock on their property. Drought calls for hard economic decisions to be made, particularly on the fate of stock.

Take action early to minimise the impacts. Animal health in a drought provides important information to aid decision making.

Water management

When preparing for or entering extended periods of dryness it is important to understand what demands are being made on existing farm water storages. View more information on water and irrigation related specifically to farming and agriculture.