Drought decisions: act early, recover quickly

Drought is one of the hardest things to manage for when you're on the land. It is fraught with sacrifice, emotions and trading off hope against reality. When you're in the thick of it, it can be challenging to know when to act. That's why it is so important to have frameworks and decision points established before the rain starts to drop off.

In 2001 Graham and Cathy Finlayson bought Bokhara Plains, a property 35 kilometres north of Brewarrina.  It had an average annual rainfall of 380 millimetres and was mostly hard claypan that had been overgrazed for decades. The first few years on Bokhara Plains were characterised by some of the driest years in recorded history. By November 2002, there was no water left on the property. The Finlaysons destocked completely.

It is difficult to capture the stress and uncertainty that surrounds a drought this debilitating. Anyone that was on the land during the millennium drought remembers the hopelessness and grief that accompanied it. When Graham reflects on this period, one thing that stands out is the relief he feels about the decisions and actions he took early on.

Graham had spent the previous year developing a structure to lead his decision-making on farm, including analysis of stocking rate against carrying capacity, and tracking annual rolling rainfall. These data points allowed the Finlaysons to understand early on the country was starting to dry out and they moved to destock in response.

Today, that framework is being utilised once again. Rainfall is dropping off, and Graham and his family have started to act. Stock numbers on Bokhara Plains are now around 5% of what they were, with the rest out on agistment. The first cattle were moved in early February, well before the country started to feel any pressure.

Bart Davidson, Atlas Ag’s Chief Grazing Officer, agrees strongly that systems and data make the hard decisions easier. During a recent session with producers, Bart used historical stocking rate and carrying capacity records to show what's at stake in waiting too long to make hard stocking decisions. Paddocks that are overgrazed through a drought can take two to three years to recover their pre-drought carrying capacity, even after rainfall is back to median levels.

"When it rains, the country will bounce back. But how much does it bounce? We know well that if we do the right thing, it bounces a lot better." - Graham Finlayson

Bart put it plainly: "Know your position. Put those lines in the sand before they become painful." Farms that operate this way tend to emerge from drought in a fundamentally different position to those that don't. Putting lines in the sand is important, but equally as important is making sure all the key decision makers are on the same page. This is a core principle for Finlaysons- Graham, his wife Cathy and daughter Harriet.

The decisions that protect land through a dry spell are the same ones that protect its long-term productivity: acting early, managing stocking rate, and taking care not to overgraze perennial plants.

Learn how Atlas Grazing can help you act early in dry times.