Safeguarding against seesawing weather

“We had to beat the rain,” said grape grower Walter Campbell. He was helping a neighbour with their harvest the previous afternoon, after neighbours had helped him some weeks earlier.

Beating the rain is something Walter has had to get used to in recent years with his property affected by the 2022 floods.

But before the weather pendulum swung towards rain, it was at the other extreme: drought.

Walter first met Growcom Farm Business Resilience Officer Brock McDonald in early 2022 at a grape grower event in the aftermath of the floods.

Initially, Walter sought Brock’s assistance for disaster recovery at Vinland—his property in Fletcher, just south of Stanthorpe, following that rain event.

But Walter has found working with Brock using Hort360 and Farm Business Resilience Planning to be beneficial for safeguarding the long-term operations on his farm, Vinland Estate.

Rewinding to 2019, drought saw Walter lose almost all the water he had access to, and vines were starting to die.

A regime of heavy pruning and mulching, and watering just enough to keep the remaining vines alive helped Walter nurse his farm through the dry period, but it was a close call.

Considering the hard work Walter and his late wife Darlene had put into transitioning Vinland from a nectarine and vegetable farm to growing eight varieties of grapes after they purchased it in 1990, it would have been devastating to start again.

Even though he was able to maintain the bare minimum of his vines, it still takes time to recuperate from such harsh conditions.

Walter took advantage of Farm Business Resilience Planning tools and support to ensure Vinland would not just survive future weather events; it would have the capacity to thrive.

As well as completing all modules within the Hort360 Best Management Practices platform to obtain a comprehensive view of his farm’s strengths and risks, Walter worked alongside Brock to develop a Farm Business Resilience Plan.

Based on his drought experience, Walter was keen to address water security, so he did not have to deal with any future water shortages.

Having completed a Farm Business Resilience Plan, Walter was able to apply for a Drought Preparedness Grant through QRIDA to fund the purchase and installation of a 0.3 megalitre water tank. This doubled Vinland’s onsite water capacity.

Walter’s application was successful, and the grant meant he received a 25 per cent rebate on the eligible costs of his tank project.

While Walter’s strategy during the drought let Mother Nature decide his vines’ survival to a certain extent, investing in water banking put control of his farm’s future firmly back within his hands.

This critical water infrastructure makes Vinland more resilient in multiple ways. Not only will it give an extra three months of water during future droughts, but it also gives Walter protection from another climate-related risk – bushfire.

Brock said that the choice of a tank instead of a dam was suitable for Vinland as the greater capacity offered by a dam was not worth the losses through evaporation and seepage.

“The beauty of a tank is it’s sealed up. It’s like having a bottle of water, you open it when you want it,” Brock said.

Walter added another benefit of the tank are the energy savings. “Placing a tank at a higher elevation than the vines means that gravity takes care of the irrigation and I don’t need to install a pump,” he said.

Through taking the time to know his farm and how much water was needed, Walter was armed with the knowledge and support to invest in his farm’s future.

“It’s a simple equation,” said Brock.

“We worked out Vinland’s minimum water requirement and the length of time Walter would need to sustain the vines using the tank.”

Now the harvest is over, Walter will be taking time over Winter to revisit and revise his Farm Business Resilience plan.

“I can’t speak highly enough of the Farm Business Resilience Planning process. I’ve recommended it to many people,” Walter said.

If you want to take a closer look at your farm and what you can do to prepare for the future, get in touch with your local Farm Business Resilience Officer today.

The Farm Business Resilience Program is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government’s Drought and Climate Adaptation Program.