Flood Ready Dairying on the North Coast of NSW
Flood Ready Dairying is about building on the strength and resilience of the dairy sector to meet the challenges of floods. Floods are the most common and costly natural disaster on the NSW North Coast where the Flood Ready Dairying project is being piloted.
The Flood Ready Dairying project commenced in 2013 and was funded by the joint Federal and State Natural Disaster Program. The project is based on The Resilience Principles (PDF 89.8 KB) and aims to increase the capacity and capability of the dairy industry to better prepare for, respond and recover from the risk and impact of floods.
The project is supported by a Steering Group (PDF 163.2 KB) consisting of dairy farmers, milk processors, industry organisations and government support agencies. Positive working relationships have been a key outcome from these connections.
Issues affecting North Coast dairy farmers before, during and after floods have been documented throughout the project and are captured in the Summary of Strengths, Issues and Suggestions from Farming Communities (PDF 444.5 KB). The level of risk associated with these issues will differ between catchments and between farms. However, an attempt has been made to prioritise these issues at a regional level and to undertake a risk assessment (PDF 100 KB) on the likelihood and level of impact associated with each issue. The risk assessment identifies activities that may mitigate the risks and acknowledges potential barriers.
A key outcome of the project is the development of a strategic industry flood resilience plan that identifies priority actions for flood preparedness, response and recovery at the farm, local and regional level. Industry input and ownership of the strategies is important for Flood Ready Dairying.
The Flood Ready Dairying Strategic Plan for the North Coast Region of NSW (PDF 695 KB) is available for download and use. The Steering Group encourages all dairy farmers to read the plan and consider what strategies may assist them in reducing flood impacts on their farms. For further information please contact floodreadydairying@dpi.nsw.gov.au .
Prepare
- Dairy Australia - Extreme weather and emergency preparedness checklist
- Risk management framework (PDF 481.8 KB)
- Be prepared for disasters
- Write an emergency flood plan
- DPI Profarm courses
- What to do before, during and after a flood (PDF 795.6 KB)
- Building a flood mound
- Preparedness stories (see page 94) (PDF 9.16 MB)
- Dairy Self Assessment Tool
- Dairying for tomorrow
- Future Ready Dairying Systems
Respond
- SES assistance
- Weather and warnings
- Road Information
- Rural Assistance Authority
- Rural Resilience Program - contacts
- Essential Energy factsheet series
- Essential Energy – Safety during floods factsheet (PDF 351.78 KB)
