Feel like you’re weathering the storm on all fronts? Take time with the big decisions after these floods

Photographer: Nicole Waldron, Mooroopna, Victoria | www.instagram.com/colesnikerz_wx

Our thoughts are with those impacted by these latest floods.

In this blog, the Vic Hub’s North-East Node – Riverine Plains Inc. – looks at decision-making over the next few months.

Key points:

• Crops, pastures, livestock and infrastructure have been affected by wet conditions to varying degrees across the region
• The outlook may have now changed for farmers, leading to an increase in the number/difficulty of decisions being made
• For complex decisions, take the time to make an informed and considered choice

The wet conditions over the past few months, combined with some huge rainfall totals and strong winds over the past couple of weeks, will be causing stress across for many farmers and businesses.

For some, flooding and wind damage will have significantly impacted crops, pastures, livestock and buildings (in some areas, for the second year in a row), meaning there is much to do to at the moment to look after people, infrastructure and livestock. For those affected, there will be urgent – but relatively simple – decisions to be made, such as where to move livestock, how to access feed, how to clear debris and so on.

Decision-making is more challenging when there are multiple factors to consider – think succession, buying/selling a farm or equipment, offloading stock. In the context of this season, there now may be complex decisions around what to do with severely waterlogged crops, those affected by disease, or crops originally intended for hay/silage if the drying window is now looking dicey.

This will be further complicated by expensive investments of fertiliser and other inputs already made this season. Options may include brown/green manuring (see this blog on whether brown manuring your pulse crop is an option this year), grazing crops, making silage, taking hay paddocks through to harvest or taking everything to harvest as planned.

How to make a good decision in response to the conditions

We were very fortunate to have Cam Nicholson (Nicon Rural Services) speak at the Riverine Plains Innovation Update in July about on-farm decision making. One of Cam’s key messages was that decision-making is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice; while we make decisions all the time, it doesn’t mean we are good at it and this can complicate decision-making, especially when faced with stressful or overwhelming decisions.

‘decision-making is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice’

A good (informed) decision is one that considers the information available at the time. With so many unknowns right now, using a decision matrix can:

• help clarify the question you want answered, e. should I brown manure my pulse crop or purchase more stock to graze damaged crops?
• clarify when the decision needs to be made (timeliness) and
• determine the most important factors influencing the decision

On its website, Southern Farming Systems (the Vic Hub’s South-West Node) hosts the Decision Wizard decision matrix tool, which could be a useful resource for farmers trying to work out what to do now, or when making other equally as big decisions.

Cam also reiterated that there will always be circumstances that weren’t known about ahead of time (such as this rain) and which can’t be changed, so the best you can do is to make an informed decision with the information you have available – and not be hard on yourself if it doesn’t work out as you wanted.

A big decision will always be made on balance: when all the factors line up, it’s easy; when they don’t it, becomes hard.

Sometimes decisions are made too quickly, so slowing down and applying a process to the decision-making – as in a decision matrix – can also result in better decisions.

‘slowing down and applying a process to the decision-making can also result in better decisions’

 

 Some decisions that might need to be made over the coming weeks

• Harvest access: consider installing tracks on headers and tractors/farm equipment to improve trafficability
• Do roads and tracks need to be reinforced with stones or gravel for better access?
• Is brown/green manuring, grazing or harvesting the best option for your crops?
• Can you still make good quality fodder?
• Does fodder now need to be sourced from elsewhere to meet livestock requirements?
• Is a review of insurance required considering changed yield estimates?
• Should the cashflow budget be reviewed?
• Livestock welfare: can you manage hoof care (i.e. scald), worm burdens, bloat risk, etc?

Consulting widely across your networks is helpful when grappling with difficult decisions, so speak to your agronomist, advisor, financial advisor, bank, stock agent or retailer for further advice.

This blog is an edited version of one originally published by Riverine Plains Inc.: “Farm impacted by the wet weather? Take some time with the big decisions“

See more of Goulburn Valley photographer Nicole Waldron’s work