Livestock
- Consider summer/autumn stock water requirements now. Plan ahead to ensure there is enough quality water available into the break of next season and formulate contingency plans. Visit Livestock water requirements and water budgeting for the south west to learn more.
- Review feed budgets now to ensure you retain enough grain from harvest, or source grains, pellets and hay/straw early to use for supplementary feeding over the summer/autumn period. Factor in multiple plans, including worst-case scenarios such as supplementary feeding earlier than normal and a later break.
- Confinement feeding is an option when paddock feed amount and quality has declined. Read our factsheet to find out more about considerations when setting up confinement feeding areas.
- Be aware of the symptoms of Annual Ryegrass Toxicity (ARGT). It’s important that purchased feed is tested for ARGT.
Sheep
- Lambs being finished on cereal stubbles or dry pasture will require supplementation to meet growth rate targets over the summer period. View Growing weaner sheep to find out more.
- Warmer winter temperatures, rainfall and low wind has seen flystrike occurring in some areas. Monitor the flock and treat if necessary.
- Monitor sheep condition score in the lead up to joining. Ewes should be in condition score 3 by joining to ensure optimum conception rates. Rams should also be prepared for joining by conducting the 4 T’s check and feeding a high protein diet in the leadup to joining. Find out more at Joining – setting the potential of your ewe flock.
- Pasture quality declines rapidly after it dries off, and there are various considerations when planning grazing crop stubbles. Find out more at Grazing stubbles and dry pasture.
Cattle
- Southern beef dry season management information for cattle producers and small landholders in the South West.
- Supplementary feeding is important to maintain adequate condition score of beef cattle (both rangelands and southern cattle) held on farm.
- Monitor Feed On Offer (FOO). If inadequate FOO, confined feeding an option.
- Pastoralists can refer to resources to support them in a very dry year, including decisions to hold or sell breeding cattle.
More livestock resources
Nutrition
- Sheep weaning best practice
- Early weaning of lambs in a poor season
- Growing weaner sheep
- Grain overload, acidosis, or grain poisoning in stock
- Supplementary feeding calculator for pregnant and lactating ewes
- Sheep feeding and nutrition
- Annual Ryegrass Toxicity (ARGT)
- Feed cost calculator
- Alternative energy and protein feed sources for sheep and cattle
- Feeding Livestock (Agriculture Victoria)
- Drought feeding and management of beef cattle - A guide for farmers and land managers (Agriculture Victoria)
- Podcast: Alternative feed sources for livestock in a dry year (WA Drought Hub)
- Full hand feeding of beef cattle – management (DPI NSW)
- Checklist for good beef cattle health and management in drought (DPI NSW)
Pastures
- Grazing annual pastures – using feed on offer (FOO) as a guide
- Pastures from Space
- Annual pasture quantity and quality
Management
- Managing flystrike in sheep
- Management tools and calculators for sheep and grazing management
- Managing sheep in a poor season
- Resources, tools and calculators for cattle and grazing management
- Southern beef - dry season management
- To hold or sell breeding cattle in the rangelands
- Breeder and heifer management for rangeland cattle
- Webinars on feeding sheep and cattle, early weaning, selling decisions, surplus feed (Local Land Services NSW)
- Dry season fact sheets (AWI Extension SA)
Confinement feeding
- Confined paddock feeding and feedlotting of sheet
- Releasing sheep from containment feeding (AWI)
- Podcast: When do I let sheep out of containment? (SA Drought Hub)
Condition scoring
- Condition scoring sheep
- Condition scoring rangelands cattle (FutureBeef)
- Condition scoring southern cattle (Angus Australia)
Animal health and welfare
- Animal welfare - resources and publications
- Livestock carcase disposal after fire, flood or drought
- Water quality for livestock
- Livestock water requirements and water budgeting for south-west Western Australia
- Calculating livestock water requirements for small landholders
- Emergency Animal Disease Hub