Dry times
Managing your land and stock during dry times
In dry times it is important to make risk management decisions early. Below are some useful links, tools and resources that you might need, to make the necessary management and financial decisions on farm, and most importantly to look after your mental health in tough times.
Dry times, livestock and farm finance
This series of fact sheets is for farmers to manage livestock and farm finances in dry seasons. They were produced by Primary Industries and Regions SA and the Department for Environment and Water with the support of MacKillop Farm Management Group and SheepConnect SA.
- Management checklist for livestock business
- Livestock management options
- Feed budgeting in a drought
- Comparing the costs of feeds
- Calculating dry matter intakes for various classes of stock
- Dry matter versus as fed
- Calculating supplementary feed amounts – cattle
- Calculating supplementary feed amounts – sheep
- Basic ration diet formulations
- Ration formulation using the ‘Pearson Square’
Other publications
These publications can assist you with decision making and management during dry times.
Cattle
- Stock containment areas - more than a drought measure
- Drought feeding and management of beef cattle - a guide for farmers and land managers
- Dry season management of a beef business – a guide to planning, managing and supplementary feeding
- Full hand feeding of beef cattle – quantities
- Supplementary feeding of cattle
- Cattle scoring video
Crops
Sheep
- Stock containment - design and stocking rates.
- Drought feeding and management of sheep - a guide for farmers and land managers
- Feeding and managing sheep in dry times
- Managing fodder prices for droughts - a sheep producer’s guide
- Managing sheep in drought lots - a best practice guide
- Stock water management - a limited resource
- Which sheep do I keep? - a guide for sheep producers in drought
- Sheep scoring video
- Climate and weather forecasting- Sheep Connect
Soil management
- Emergency measures to curb wind erosion - PIRSA
- Applying Technologies to everyday farming decisions: a dryland case study
- Post fire soil conservation demonstration case study
- Stabilising soil post fire
Shelter
Tools and calculators
These tools and calculators can help determine and predict feed demand and budgeting, stocking rates, livestock condition scoring, climate impacts, pasture growth rates, weather and climate forecasts.
Feed budgeting calculator to compare cost of feeding, agisting or selling livestock (spreadsheet)
Tools and calculators - Meat and Livestock Australia
Tools for management - Lifetime Wool
Water and the land - Bureau of Meteorology
Long range weather and climate - Bureau of Meteorology
Confinement feeding videos
These videos, developed by Birchip Cropping Group, provide guidance on establishing and managing confinement feeding. The case studies were produced by Agriculture Victoria on farms which have established confinement feeding lots.
Why should I build a containment area?
How do I choose a location for a containment area?
How to manage sheep in a containment area?
How to make the transition out of a containment area?
Farmer view - Why I established a containment are
Confinement feeding case study - Trevor Robert’s story
Confinement feeding case study - Lachlan Ralton’s story
Support services
Primary Industries and Regions SA
Rural Financial Counselling Service
Regional Mental HealthServices