Recovery support services
Technical support
Agriculture Victoria staff can assist farmers with technical support and advice in the following areas:
- farm recovery after floods
- grazing and pasture recovery
- water budgeting and quality
- soil erosion management
- land class fencing
- animal health and nutrition
- whole farm planning.
For more information, call 1800 226 226.
For information on workshops and events.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsflash newsletter produced by our Better Beef and BestWool/BestLamb teams in Victoria.
Subscribe to our weekly regional media newsletters, for:
Advice on how to prepare for a flood and what to do before and after a flood, go to the Agriculture Victoria flood page.
To report flood damage on farm: Call 136 186.
Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) Hotline
If you suspect a pest or disease outbreak or have seen something unusual, contact the EAD hotline on 1800 675 888.
Business support
Farm Business Management and Planning Support
Agriculture Victoria normally delivers technical and decision-making support services to assist farm businesses recover from events such as major floods. Working with our industry partners, the department provides services across industries including beef, sheep, dairy, grains, horticulture and irrigation.
Farmer Assistance Hotline (Aust Govt)
Information on the Australian Government's support services available to farmers and rural communities: Call 132 316
Farm Hub (Aust Govt)
Farm Hub aims to provide farmers with a single portal through which they can access information about assistance and advice to manage hardship.
Visit the FarmHub website.
BlazeAid
BlazeAid works alongside families and individuals in rural Australia to help rebuild fences and other structures that have been damaged or destroyed through natural disasters.
Visit the BlazeAid website.
Agriculture Victoria recovery support services
Technical support and advice is available in the following areas:
Grazing and pasture recovery
- species options for resowing
- soil requirements for sowing new pastures
- assessing soil characteristics
- interpreting soil test results
- predicting pasture recovery over the next year.
Water budgeting and quality
- assess on-farm storage capacity in dams and tanks
- plan pipes and water troughs on your property
- identify stock water requirements
- develop strategies to protect water supplies from contamination.
Soil erosion management
Loss of ground cover can lead to significant soil erosion. Technical advice is available for the following:
- mitigating soil erosion
- gully, tunnel and sheet erosion
- impacts on water quality following a bushfire
- building a sediment fence.
Land class fencing
Land class fencing allows you to sub-divide your farm considering attributes that impact on productivity and soil degradation, including:
- slope, topography and aspect
- soil types
- climate
- surface rock or stone.
Animal health and nutrition
- feed budgeting, including understanding feed quality and livestock requirements
- long-term farm decisions and managing through varying climatic conditions
- costs, cashflow to aid short and long-term decisions
- stock condition scores and targets
- containment areas and restocking
- using own land for agistment
- using land for hay and silage production or cropping
- design and management of shade and shelter for livestock
- advice on animal health.
Whole farm planning
Whole Farm Planning can help improve farm productivity and sustainability through the following:
- matching land use and capability
- understand of soils and their management
- assessing water needs
- management of land degradation
- pastures and grazing management
- native vegetation in a farming system
- risk management
- farm design (paddock size, laneways etc).