Preparedness
Being proactive and preparing your farm or business for an emergency can significantly reduce the impact of that crisis event on your business.
It may be as simple as giving everyone a job to do if flood or fire threaten your business. Who will move and protect livestock, look out for emerging threats, or who will you call in for extra support? Early planning can prevent livestock loss, property damage, and save lives.
There are a range of useful resources and programs to support dairy farms and businesses prepare for emergencies and natural disasters.
Making an emergency plan
Coming in 2025
Climate risk assessment tool for dairy businesses
Building from data collected across almost 30 NSW dairy farms impacted by natural disaster or adverse climate events between 2019-2022, this tool will assist dairy farm businesses identify critical risks to assist in preparing for future natural disasters and improve business resilience.
Dairy Emergency Response and Recovery Plan-on-a-Page
Planning for and responding to natural disaster and crisis events can be a daunting and stressful process. The Dairy Emergency Response and Recovery Plan-on-a-Page aims to assist farmers and services providers focus on some of the critical actions in preparation for, during and after an emergency.
Whittingham Community Flood Plan
Following flooding in 2007, local dairy farmers and emergency and support agencies created a flood plan to better prepare the community for future flood events. A case study has been produced exploring the Whittingham Community Flood Plan, including how it was created, maintained and implemented. See the recovery page for more info.
Managing drought, fire and flood
This guide was created by NSW DPIRD and LLS. It contains chapters around planning for drought, fire and flood and includes strategies and actions that farmers can consider to support making informed decisions both for their business, and the wellbeing of them and the people around them.
Tracing livestock in an emergency
It is important to be able to identify and trace livestock at any time, but particularly during emergency and natural disaster events where livestock can be evacuated quickly or be displaced from property. This guide outlines the key areas of livestock traceability farmers should consider to ensure they are prepared for disaster and emergencies.
Preparing for emergencies
Drought
The NSW Government has set the DroughtHub – there you will find information and support for looking after livestock, business and financial assistance, managing property, and much more.
The Feedbase section of this website for information on managing feed supply and quality which can help during drought. There are also a number of calculators and other tools available to assist in managing feed more efficiently and profitably.
To support dairy farmers with making informed decisions about farm system changes, Dairy Australia and Agriculture Victoria developed the National Guidelines for Dairy Feedpads and Contained Housing. This may be of use when considering planning for events such as drought.
Fire
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) supports farmers and businesses to prepare for bushfires. Have you got a Farm Fire Plan? Download templates or find up-to-date advice on the NSW RFS website.
The NSW Government also has information on bushfire preparedness, response and recovery. Emergency resources and contacts related to bushfires can also be found on this site.
Flood
The SES Floodsafe Guide for rural areas gives farmers and business owners an easy way to assess and understand your property’s flood risk. Visit their website to understand how you can keep your livestock safe during floods.
Information on flood mounds is available in this Flood Mound Primefact and Dairy Australia has a number of resources related to preparing for floods and wet conditions on their website.
The NSW Government also has information on flood preparedness, response and recovery. Emergency resources and contacts related to floods can also be found on this site.
Disease and biosecurity
Preventing and preparing for biosecurity emergencies is a shared responsibility. The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is the appointed combat agency for biosecurity emergencies and works with other agencies such as Local Land Services to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies affecting all animals and plants, both land and water. Information on preparing for biosecurity emergencies can be found on the NSW DPIRD’s website, the NSW Local Land Services website, and Dairy Australia’s biosecurity page.
Loans for drought infrastructure
Applications for the Drought Infrastructure Fund are currently open, with loans of up to $1 million available to eligible NSW farmers.
Dairy service provider registry
To more easily connect dairy businesses with available support services, a dairy industry Service Provider Registry was created and can be found online. Managed by GroRural, the registry and aims to build stronger industry networks and develop partnerships to help dairy businesses succeed.