Agriculture Victoria is providing East Gippsland livestock producers with one-on-one consultation sessions, to assist them to manage current seasonal conditions and plan for the approaching winter.
"Planning ahead and ensuring that producers are aware of available support services is very important as we head into winter," Agriculture Victoria Land Management team leader Caroline Love said.
"Producers are likely to be feeding livestock for an extended period until we get adequate rain and have the right conditions for good pasture growth.
Producers are likely to be feeding livestock for an extended period until we get adequate rain and have the right conditions for good pasture growth.
- Caroline Love, Agriculture Victoria Land Management team leader
The one-on-one consultations complemented other dry seasonal conditions workshops and events being held across East Gippsland.
The sessions were being run by Agriculture Victoria and GippsDairy.
"For beef and sheep producers, one-on-one consultations help support producers to interpret livestock feed requirements, develop feed budgets and consider options around whether to sell or keep livestock,” Ms Love said.
"Completing feed budgets helps ensure that farm businesses have sufficient supplementary feed available, that animal requirements are being met, and that informed decisions are being made on what additional feed is required.
"Producers are likely to be feeding livestock for an extended period until we get adequate rain and have the right conditions for good pasture growth.
For all producers, one-on-one consultations will also advise about the range of other support services available to support farm businesses.
“This includes the Rural Financial Counselling Service who offer free rural financial counselling, and the details of local mental health and well-being service providers who are available to assist individuals as needed,” Ms Love said.
"There is a wide range of support agencies and programs available in the region and 'it's important that producers are aware of these support measures and understand how to access them," she said.
Agriculture Victoria is also providing information on water quality testing and water quantity budgets for livestock.
It will also advise on how to maintain ground cover and avoid the loss of top soil, following rain events in the approaching months.
