More details surrounding recent funding for Victorian drought resistance research from the federal government have been announced.
The Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption & Innovation Hub (Vic Hub) will lead two projects costing $15 million which will aim to improve pasture diversity and year-round support for feed production.
Director of the Vic Hub Michael Tausz said the two Victorian research projects will give confidence to the agriculture industry in adopting drought resilient practices.
"The announcement is significant - and unusual - because the grants support work over several growing seasons, bring trial work to the regions, and integrate and co-ordinate the work for maximum quality and impact," he said.
Funding of $7.2 million will be dedicated to investigating practices until the 2027/28 season to improve drought resilience in mixed-farming, grazing and broadacre-grain systems.
Experiments will be established at the University of Melbourne's Dookie Campus, while field trials in the Mallee, south-western Victoria, as well as in Tasmania will also occur.
The second project will research diversity in pastures to build resilience and support year-round feed production in southern, temperate grazing systems.
It will specifically investigate the summer feed-gap and climate-resilience outcomes across commercial and research field sites in dairy cattle and beef-grazing industries.
Experiments for that project will be established at Agriculture Victoria research farms in Hamilton and Ellinbank, and supplemented by field sites from Gippsland through Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.
The projects come after roundtable national drought-resilience discussions with the heads of Australia's eight Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs, held earlier this month in Katherine, NT.
"It was an excellent example of the power of collaboration and how integrating diverse perspectives can lead to more effective drought-resilience strategies," Prof Tausz said.
"It particularly showed the power of integrating traditional knowledge with innovative technologies to build more resilient communities across Australia.
"While the regional circumstances are very different in Victoria, it is important to better understand what works in other places and draw on their experiences."
When announcing the long-term trials in Tamworth earlier this month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was important to strengthen the understanding of drought resistance.
"Australian farmers are always gearing up for the next drought - it's a matter of when, not if," Mr Albanese said.
"And I'm proud to say that Australian farmers are some of the best in the world at preparing for and managing drought, which puts them at the forefront of climate adaptation."
