‘Lifting the Lid on Drought’ tour - coming to a town near you!

The ‘Lifting the Lid on Drought’ tour will launch next week, taking practical information and details of the NSW and Federal Government’s recently announced drought assistance packages to farmers battling with drought on the Northern Tablelands.

The Northern Tablelands Local Land Services (LLS) has joined forces with Landcare, Farm-Link and the Rural Financial Counselling Service to host a series of practical drought management workshops:

                                                TUESDAY                  WEDNESDAY                        THURSDAY

                                                 4 March                          5 March                     6 March

                                                11 March                       12 March                    13 March

                                                25 March                                                           27 March

LLS District Vets, Livestock Officers and Pasture Agronomists, Rural Financial Counsellors and health and well-being experts will present advice on feeding strategies, marketing options, livestock and pasture management, health and support services, and how to access State and Federal Government assistance as well as the just released Northern Tablelands LLS Drought Recovery Project.

“No two properties will have the same amount of feed left in the paddock, the same amount of capital in the bank to drawn on, or the same management problems to negotiate,” explained LLS District Vet, Andrew Biddle.

“These workshops will give landholders the chance to meet the local professionals they can talk to one on one about their individual situation.”

“Our aim is to keep the sessions simple and practical, providing basic information on challenges like how much feed you need per animal, per day, and how to calculate the costs.”

“We’ll also highlight the problems to watch out for when delivering alternative feed sources you’re not familiar with, because that’s when people get into trouble.”

“We also want to remind farmers to take care of their own mental and physical health, because if you are not healthy yourself, it will be much harder to make good decisions for your business.”

“In my experience, whenever you are in a drought situation, when people are grappling with animal health issues, there are nearly always human welfare issues to consider as well.” 

“So we’re taking a holistic approach, dealing with animal health, environmental health, and human health in one forum,” said Mr Biddle.

Food and refreshments will be supplied at the workshops, including breakfast at morning sessions, and supper in the evening. 

Landholders planning to attend the ‘Lifting the Lid on Drought’ workshops are asked to RSVP for catering purposes to their local Landcare office:

Glenrac (Glen Innes)                                                 02 6732 3443

Gwymac (Inverell)                                                     02 6721 1241

Granite Borders (Tenterfield)                                    02 6736 3500

Southern New England Landcare (Armidale)           02 6772 9123

UGLA (Bingara)                                                         02 6724 2052