Hawkesdale farmer builds feedlot to address near-drought conditions

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology says there are "severe rainfall deficiencies" for parts of south-western Victoria.

Tee Jay Poll Herefords and livestock business owner Tony Williams, Hawkesdale, said a dry spring had left him without feed heading into summer.

He subsequently destocked about 20 per cent of his flock, now managing about 800 ewes and 50 head of cattle.

Mr Williams said he needed to buy in all his feed this year.

"We only cut 100 bales of hay and silage and it cut off really fast in spring," he said.

He had received about 80 millimetres of rain in January, no rain in February, some in March and 40mm in April in "dribs and drabs".

He said they sheared their entire lamb flock and employed a nutritionist to ensure they were well-fed while staying cost effective.

"I've got this feedlot, we bought a feed mixer as well, so we fed all our lambs and bought a few extras in to make up some loads," he said.

"We have fed before but only about 30 per cent of lambs, never 100 per cent."

He spent two days constructing the feedlot, adding troughs along the fencing.

Mr Williams said they had never worried about destocking before.

"The year before, the spring was too wet and we didn't cut any feed, so we've had two bad springs in a row but opposing each other, one too wet and one too dry," he said.

"From here to the coast, it got worse as you went down.

"Everyone is pretty short of feed, we've all been containment-feeding ewes and trying to preserve so our sheep so they don't kill our new pastures."

A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said Hawkesdale recorded higher-than-average rain for February, April, June and December in 2023, but lower than average since January 2023.

"In February 2024, Hawkesdale (Post Office) reported 0mm of rain," the spokesperson said.

"Large parts of the west and south-west had zero rainfall during February 2024.

"There are serious and severe rainfall deficiencies for parts of south-western Victoria commencing in August 2023."

They said the February rain recording was on-par with February 1956 at Hawkesdale.

Mr Williams said a shortage of hay had presented challenges, and several farmers nearby had been stocking up to ensure they could feed throughout winter.

"This green has only turned up in the past two weeks," he said.

"Every paddock is the same, they're all bare."

He said further challenges including the price of stock.

In the sold stock, Mr Williams lowered his ewe numbers and sold several cattle they would've otherwise retained.

His last load of sheep went for 640 cents a kilogram.

"The options were either keep them and feed them, or take a loss, we decided it would be cheaper to take the loss in November," Mr Williams said.

"It was the right decision because there still hasn't been any feed."

He said colder temperatures were setting in, and they needed about 20mm of rain before the soil temperature dropped further.

"Hopefully we've had a bit more rain to get things growing, we haven't sown any pasture yet," he said.

Mr Williams said they planned to sow this week, to cut hay and silage in the spring.