Vic Hub funding extended for Gippsland Node
The Victorian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (Vic Hub) is one of eight national hubs funded by the Australian Government to enhance drought preparedness and resilience through economic, environmental, and community initiatives. The Hub's focus was expanded beyond drought resilience to include broader agricultural innovation.
With headquarters at the University of Melbourne’s Dookie Campus, the Vic Hub is a statewide partnership between four universities, the state government and five regionally well-connected and engaged farming groups.
Food & Fibre Gippsland, as the Vic Hub’s ‘Gippsland Node’, is one of the five partner organisations which have been delivering drought projects and championing drought innovation over the past few years.
Recently, the Commonwealth’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry provided funding to extend the Vic Hub - Gippsland Node drought program until 2025.
This funding is being used to support existing producer-led projects managed by Gippsland Agricultural Group (GAgG) and South Gippsland Landcare Network (SGLN).
Our focus for these projects with GAgG during the next 12 months involves:
supporting producers to maximise fodder storage, for the purpose of reducing the reliance on purchased-in conserved feeds (hays and silage);
growing more pasture through better management of topsoil;
a soil coring program to support farmers to understand and manage soils better; and
an extension of the drought adoption officer program across the whole of our region.
Funding is being provided to SGLN and Deakin University to extend out the sustainable ‘Greening Gippsland’s Dams’ program to reach more farmers and growers across the southern area of the region.
We’re also in negotiations to extend the use of advanced soil moisture sensing programs for the vegetable industry based within the Gippsland region. This funding will support on-farm demonstration programs and integrate with existing VegNET Gippsland activities.
For more information about the Vic Hub - Gippsland Node projects, please contact Brodie Anderson, Regional Drought Resilience Officer via email or mobile: 0460 895 232.
Images, top: Green Farm Dams project at Cape Liptrap (photos: Food & Fibre Gippsland).
Images, centre (L to R): GAgG’s Soil Coring and Growing More Topsoil projects (photos: Food & Fibre Gippsland).
Images, above (L to R): GAgG’s Drought Adoption Officers Nicole Frost and Rick Blackshaw. The centre and right images show Rick at the Growing More Topsoil plots at Giffard (photos: GAgG).
The Vic Hub - Gippsland Node projects receive funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
