North-East Node update, February 2025

A Vic Hub-funded weather platform released, planning for the season ahead at Sykesy’s Buraja Meeting and celebrating the achievements of rural women were some of the events during February for the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption & Innovation Hub’s North-East Node, led by Riverine Plains.

Weather platform released

Riverine Plains recently launched Riverine Plains Weather, a new platform providing farmers in north-east Victoria and southern NSW with real-time weather and soil information.

The platform received funding through the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and uses a network of 16 on-farm weather stations at Bungeet, Barooga, Berrigan, Rand, Coreen, Boree Creek, Culcairn, Burrumbuttock, Rutherglen, Pleasant Hills, Lockhart, Burramine, Tungamah, Miepoll, Urana and Oaklands, along with 17 soil moisture probes.

The network provides real-time local rainfall, wind speed and direction, temperature, delta T, soil temperature, soil moisture and spraying conditions data. Having access to this type of data supports farmers in making more informed decisions around sowing, spraying, fertiliser and harvest, for reduced risk and improved productivity.

Data from the network of soil probes also provides farmers with insights into soil moisture and temperature at different depths across the profile, which can help tailor crop choice and fertiliser inputs, based on soil conditions.

Riverine Plains Weather is free to access and is hosted by PairTree. It integrates data from five networks including Riverine Plains, fellow Vic Hub partners Agriculture Victoria and Birchip Cropping Group (the Hub’s North-West Node lead), along with Holbrook Landcare Network, Central West Farming Systems and NSW DPI.

The Riverine Plains Weather network recently received a 4G upgrade, provided by Goanna Ag and funded through the Australian Government’s Preparing Australian Communities Program and contributions from host farmers.

Sykesy’s Buraja Meeting – planning for the season ahead

 Riverine Plains recently hosted Sykesy’s Buraja Meeting, providing farmers in both Victoria and NSW with an opportunity to debrief the harvest just gone, while planning for and de-risking the season ahead.

The harvest debrief session heard that crops generally yielded better than expected given the dry spring conditions and frosts, with barley a standout and reports of very good gross margins from faba beans and lupins. Frost damage in 2024 was less than initially thought and a key message was to be patient when assessing the impact of frost, as it can take one-two weeks to become fully apparent.

Nitrogen input costs remain a concern for farmers in 2025. While there may be residual nitrogen in some paddocks, it was recommended farmers use data from incremented deep soil nitrogen tests to inform nitrogen decisions. Other topics raised on the day included seed quality (due to rain at harvest), soil acidity, the use of seed technologies and slugs.

Cash flow is also likely to be highly variable in 2025, depending on location and how much rain was received in 2024, and it’s important for farmers to be proactive in accessing additional working capital if cash flow issues are likely this season. Budgeting was also explored as a useful tool to identify opportunities and risk within the farm business.

Ladies Lunch – celebrating the achievements of rural women

 Held at St Leonards Winery during February, the 2025 Riverine Plains Ladies Lunch brought together 150 women to celebrate the contributions and achievements of local women in agriculture.

The Ladies Lunch saw women involved across many facets of agriculture connect with new and old friends, providing an opportunity to expand and strengthen social and professional networks.

Guest speakers Alexander MacAlpine (The Social Herd), Ros Vodusek (Rich Glen) and Hannah Bamford (AgWorks Solutions), shared their business journeys, with personal growth and development key themes. The audience heard how the speakers had extended their industry involvement and deepened their understanding, knowledge and experiences since starting their own businesses. A panel session, led by Sophie Hanna from Riverine Plains, highlighted the power of passion, dedication and creativity in crafting a business that’s both enjoyable and practical to run.

The stories shared on the day were genuinely inspirational and set the tone for both the informal and open-mic conversations which followed. Many ideas and connections were shared over the course of the day, providing the basis for future collaboration and innovation.

The event was supported by funding from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR). Riverine Plains thanks the speakers for sharing their stories, as well as attendees for embracing the spirit of the day and contributing their own stories and ideas.