By Brian Ashton, Senior Livestock Consultant, Rural Solutions SA, Pt Lincoln

A number of South Australian sheep and cattle producers have provided input into a report that looks at what lessons were learnt from last year’s drought conditions.

Unfortunately, with another drought following so closely many people may be needing to apply the information learned this year.

As part of funding from the Government’s Drought Response program, Rural Solutions SA surveyed farmers in the South East and Kangaroo Island who confinement fed their sheep during the drought. A number of meetings were also funded to help farmers review how they managed during the drought.

The report summarises both these projects. It shows farmers can save time, money and their paddocks from erosion if they implement drought plans early. The sooner families sit down around the kitchen table and make plans the better – even if those plans have to be changed later on.
Key recommendations from the report include:

• Containment feeding stock, when necessary, is good practice and not hard
• Stretch paddock feed by feed budgeting, having good water supply and rotational grazing – as long as paddocks do not become an erosion risk
• Make allowances for feeding past the normal break-to-the-season
• Allow for extra feed in late pregnancy
• Do a feed test (about $50) to determine energy, protein and dry content of pasture and fodder. People who did not test were unsure of the correct ration to feed
• Feed less hay in paddocks and once stock settles in containment areas as hay is hard to get and is expensive
• Introduce grain carefully because grain poisoning is still the major cause of deaths.

Copies of the report are available by visiting http://www.ruralsolutions.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/56050/farmer_experiences.pdf or by contacting Brian Ashton, email  ashton.brian@saugov.sa.gov.au