Growcom’s Farm Business Resilience Program (FBRP) was created to assist horticultural growers to identify gaps in their current farm management systems. It should also develop plans that support growth and aid in mitigating the impacts of future droughts.
Using Growcom’s best management practice platform, Hort360 growers can easily undertake a gap-analysis and develop their Resilience Plan using the inbuilt template. Financial assistance is also available through QRIDA.
Greg Lester and his brother Wayne from Morton Vale Farms grow a mixed range of crops, from seasonal pumpkins, melons, vegetables, and corn as well as lucerne hay production under irrigation. Like many farm businesses, their farming area is spread across a number of blocks up to 2 km apart and until recently the Lester’s farm only had a single hard hose boom irrigator.
After a few good years of rain in the Lockyer Valley, the brothers knew from experience that a dry spell could be coming. With the assistance on offer through Growcom’s Farm Business Resilience Program (FBRP), they decided to strengthen their farms’ drought resilience to secure their future in farming.
Through a series of mini-workshops, Southern Queensland Resilience Officer Brock McDonald from Growcom, helped Greg to navigate the FBRP process, using questions to help Greg think through his business and look at some of the potential risks from new angles.
Source: growcom.com.au
