Some key initiatives facilitated by Dairy Australia included: o Fortnightly drought bulletins distributed to more than 2,000 service providers that kept them up-to-date on industry activities and resources; o Funding for the ABS grain stock surveys (commissioned through the Feedgrain User Group); o An independent regional feed, grain and hay report specifically tailored for dairy farmers, distributed weekly since November 2006; o Dairy update radio spots broadcast on 30 radio stations in all dairy regions to improve coverage of drought information and encourage participation in local activities; o Bulletins for farmers and service providers on technical, policy and people support and other topics; o Fact sheets on a range of topics concerned with saving water in dairies; o An upgraded Dairy Australia website to provide a resource for farmers and service providers seeking drought-related resources and information; o On-farm monitoring through a sentinel farm survey to track on-farm responses and impacts instituted on 44 farms across Australia in November 2006; and o Regional drought response co-ordinators employed in each dairy region to improve collaboration, ensure effective communication, tailor region-specific responses, and provide feedback. Phase 1 of the drought response addressed the initial emergency situation from October 2006 to February 2007. To assess the impact of prolonged drought into autumn, Dairy Australia initiated the following activities: o Feed and water budgets for each dairying region; o A supplementary farmer survey (April 2007) to update the National Dairy Farmer Survey and assess the ongoing impact of the drought and determine the on-farm management and service support priorities; and o A fodder seminar (May 2007) to bring together industry stakeholders to assess and address the fodder shortage. These activities provided key inputs into the ADIC’s ‘Fighting Back’ strategy for drought response and recovery (May 2007) which resulted in new Australian Government funding to support the ongoing drought response. They also helped the dairy industry develop a strategy for phase 2 of the drought response to address the fodder shortage, which lead to the rapid roll out of the feed.FIBRE.future program (see below). FEED.FIBRE.FUTURE Business group: FPD, T&S Program: Phase 2 - National Drought Response & Recovery o Rapid response to drought-induced feed shortages o One-on-one consultations, tools and information to analyse, assess and implement feed action plans In May 2007, an inventory of hay and silage across Australia confirmed a national shortfall of forage during the rest of autumn and throughout winter. It was unlikely that dairy and beef farmers would be able to rely on traditional sources of fodder and roughage. Limited stock water also put additional pressure on farmers.
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