Dry Season Resources

Securing reliable on-farm water is one of the most pressing challenges for Wheatbelt farmers facing consecutive dry seasons, with some spending over $60,000 in a single year just to keep water up to stock. In this episode, Dr Richard George from DPIRD and Professor Brett Harris from Curtin University talk about a targeted approach to finding water in fractured bedrock aquifers deep beneath the Whe...

Australia’s Southern Rangelands are some of the most variable and challenging pastoral landscapes in the world. Climate variability, rising costs, legacy land condition and large-scale operations can make it challenging to make management decisions and know where new technologies can genuinely add value. In this episode, landscape ecologist Richard Marver from Contour Consulting and Krystie Bremer...

Virtual fencing could become a game-changer for Australian livestock producers, replacing kilometres of wire and hours of labour with a GPS collar and an app. But its potential goes well beyond convenience. By giving farmers unprecedented control over grazing pressure, virtual fencing is shaping up as a powerful tool for dry‑season management and climate resilience. In this episode, Esperance farm...

Uncertain seasons require clear thinking, not more noise. In this episode, Rod Birch, a grain grower from Coorow, shares his approach to planning for and managing through dry seasons and broader uncertainty. Rod discusses the importance of focusing on core fundamentals, identifying key risks such as lower-than-expected rainfall, input supply and markets, and avoiding unnecessary noise when making...

Input constraints are a challenge, not just currently in 2026, but also off the back of dry seasons when financial constraints can dominate decision making. In both contexts, smart allocation can make a real difference to whole of farm performance. In this episode, cropping farmer Dylan Hirsch from Latham WA and CSIRO research scientist Roger Lawes discuss practical strategies for making the most...

Seasonal climate outlooks can inform planning, but they are only one part of farm decision-making. In this episode, Dr Meredith Guthrie, from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and Phil Smyth, northern Wheatbelt agronomist from Nutrien Coorow, talk about the 2026 seasonal outlook. Meredith explains current climate drivers, how to interpret climate model probabili...

Water quality is one of the most overlooked factors in spray performance, yet it can have major impacts on efficacy, compatibility and long-term resistance risk. In this episode, agronomist Bill Campbell from Campbell Ag and Damon Cusack from the Fitzgerald Biosphere Group (FBG) discuss how water quality varies across Western Australia and what growers can do to better manage it. They explore comm...

Livestock monitoring and management is crucial for keeping animals healthy and productive during extended summer periods. In this episode, we are joined by Dr Izzy Drage, Field Veterinary Officer at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), and Katherine Davies, Senior Development Officer in DPIRD’s Animal Systems group. They bring valuable experience in livestock heal...

Quality soil data and precision agriculture can reduce risk and improve farm performance. This episode kicks off our new Innovation series, dropping every second instalment of the Dry Season Resources podcast. This series is hosted by Doug Hamilton, Innovation Specialist with the Grower Group Alliance and the SW WA Hub. In this episode, Doug is joined by Aidan Sinnott, consultant and director at V...

More than one million hectares of broadacre farmland are estimated to be affected by dryland salinity in Western Australia, causing significant production losses. In this episode, Dr Richard George from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) reflects on four decades of work tackling dryland salinity across Western Australia. He unpacks the complexity of salinity in t...

Declining rainfall and reduced water availability since the 1970s have made efficient water use in food production more important than ever. In this episode, Dr Julia Easton and Professor Mark Gibberd from the Centre for Crop Disease Management at Curtin University discuss the 'On Farm Water Demand' project, funded through the WA Node of Food Agility CRC. On Farm Water Demand is a regional project...

In this episode, we’re joined by Jethro Sercombe, Director of Innovation Practice at Third Story, and Tanya Kilminster, SW WA Hub Knowledge Broker, for a deep dive into co-design in agriculture. Together, they unpack what co-design really means and explore how it can be applied to agriculture-related projects to achieve stronger outcomes. They highlight why intent matters: true co-design is about...

Neil Lantzke, Principal Research Scientist in DPIRD’s Intensive and Irrigated Plant Systems team, shares his expertise on growing horticultural crops on the sandy soils of Western Australia’s Swan Coastal Plain. Neil explains why these soils struggle to retain nutrients and water, and highlights innovative agricultural practices that are being developed to address these issues. The conversation al...

Murdoch University’s Professor David Henry and recent PhD graduate Maria Pfeifle, now with DPIRD, explore the issue of non-wetting soils (also known as soil water repellency) in Western Australia. They unpack what it is, why it occurs, and what remains unknown, delving into the complexities of managing this persistent challenge. The conversation also examines how sandy soils, temperature, drought,...

Dr Gaus Azam, a soils researcher at DPIRD leading the GRDC project “Re-engineering soils to improve the access of crop root systems to water and nutrients stored in the subsoil”, joins Esperance agronomist Quenten Knight from Agronomy Focus to discuss the soil re-engineering work underway across Western Australia. Together, they explore how this innovative approach to soil management is improving...

We’re kicking off our Sandy Soils podcast series with Dr Stephen Davies (DPIRD) and Dr Therese McBeath (CSIRO), co-conveners of the 2025 Sandy Soils Conference in Perth. Sandy soils cover more than half of Western Australia, including much of our cropping land. Their importance to food production and land use makes understanding and managing them vital to building climate resilience. Stephen and T...

What happens when wind turbines meet wheat fields? Across Western Australia, more and more farmers are being approached by energy companies with big ideas - and big infrastructure. But what does it all mean for your farm? Farmanco’s limited podcast series, "Diversifying Farm Income: Integrating Renewable Energy into Agriculture", unpacks the opportunities and challenges of the renewables rollout....

What happens when wind turbines meet wheat fields? Across Western Australia, more and more farmers are being approached by energy companies with big ideas - and big infrastructure. But what does it all mean for your farm? Farmanco’s limited podcast series, "Diversifying Farm Income: Integrating Renewable Energy into Agriculture", unpacks the opportunities and challenges of the renewables rollout....

What happens when wind turbines meet wheat fields? Across Western Australia, more and more farmers are being approached by energy companies with big ideas - and big infrastructure. But what does it all mean for your farm? Farmanco’s limited podcast series, "Diversifying Farm Income: Integrating Renewable Energy into Agriculture", unpacks the opportunities and challenges of the renewables rollout....

Pastoralists Alys McKeough (Carey Downs Station) and Debbie Dowden (Challa Station) were sponsored by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (SW WA Hub) to attend the 2025 International Rangelands Congress in Adelaide. In this episode, Alys and Debbie share key insights and takeaways from the event, from global perspectives on rangeland management to the importance of int...

Dr John Duncan from The University of Western Australia and Dr Daniel Kidd from the Grower Group Alliance discuss the recently released Water Evaluation Platform (WEP), which was created as part of the WaterSmart Dams project. WEP is a web application that allows you to simulate the performance of a dam and its catchment allowing the landholder to understand and analyse the different options avail...

In this episode, Dr Michael Young, from Farm Optimisation Group and Johno O'Halloran, a local farmer in Kojonup, explore how decision-making tools can help manage challenges. Decision fatigue is common, but using models and expert advice can reduce the load and improve outcomes. The episode discusses the farm optimisation model that lets you test different scenarios, helping farmers move beyond gu...

Dr Nik Callow from the University of Western Australia shares insights from the WaterSmart Dams project, which aims to build resilient water supplies for cropping and livestock operations. The episode highlights the issue of dams receiving less water due to lower rainfall, low runoff from catchments, and ageing dams; all exacerbating water shortages, especially during consecutive low rainfall year...

Business, landscape/production, and mental wellbeing are deeply intertwined, each influencing and reinforcing the others. This episode explores the interconnectedness of these three pillars of the triple bottom line in livestock production in the Southern Rangelands. We are joined by agribusiness management consultant Richard Brake (Richard Brake Consulting), principal landscape ecologist/agroecol...

2024 delivered a mixed season for Western Australian growers. It began with extremely dry conditions, then turned around with above-average rainfall through June, July, and August, leading to above-average yields in many regions. However, rising overheads and variable costs meant many farmers finished the year in a neutral financial position. In this episode, we’re joined by Renae Piggott, Consult...