GrazingFutures Livestock Business Resilience Plans – Producer Experiences

Drought Preparedness: Stories of developing Farm Business Resilience Plans

The idea of taking on more paperwork can be daunting for anybody in business. However, there is much to be gained by beef producers from developing a farm business resilience plan and various organisations and individuals are available to offer free support with the process. Here are some producer experiences.

The Masterson Story

Ian Masterson and wife Maree are cattle producers in North Queensland. Their enterprise includes two properties which forms part of their existing management strategy. They worked with Rural Financial Counsellors (RFC) Lynette McGuffie and Emma Cook to get their Farm Business Resilience Plan together.  Through the plan they were able to outline their goals for building additional drought resilience into their enterprise. They also received extension support from Emily Corbett (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) and Keerah Steele (Gulf Savannah NRM). With the plan complete, RFC Emma Cook helped the Mastersons apply for a QRIDA grant to implement their plans to improve drought resilience in their management strategy.

Watch the videos below to learn more about the Masterton story.

• Beef Producer – Ian Masterson’s story 
• Beef Producer – Maree Masterton’s story
• Rural Financial Counsellor – Lynette McGuffie’s story
• Rural Financial Counsellor – Emma Cook’s story 
• Beef Extension Officer – Emily Corbett’s story 
• NRM Officer – Keerah Steele’s story 

The Anderson Story

Beef producer Dave Anderson has a property with rainforest country at Malanda on the Atherton Tablelands. He worked with Rural Financial Counsellor Lynette McGuffie to put his Farm Business Resilience Plan together. Beef Extension Officer Bernie English also worked with Dave discussing different ways to set up the business to prepare better with dry years. Through the plan Dave was able to outline his goals for building drought resilience into his enterprise with improving drinking water supply for his cattle. With his plan completed, he has been able to access QRIDA assistance to put into action works for managing water on his property.

Watch these videos below to learn more about the Anderson story.

Beef Producer – Dave Anderson’s story 

Beef Extension Officer – Bernie English’s story 

The GrazingFutures Livestock Business Resilience program is jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government’s Drought and Climate Adaptation Program.