The team from the TNQ Drought Hub will be on site at this year's Northern Beef Producers Expo to talk to producers and industry representatives about building drought resilience.
The hub was launched in April 2021 along with seven other Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs through the Federal Government's Future Drought Fund.
Director Dr David Phelps said the primary objective of the hub is to support producers and communities in preparing for drought.
"We're doing this by partnering with their local natural resource management groups and other regional stakeholders to deliver co-designed approaches and solutions for drought resilience in Tropical North Queensland." Dr Phelps said.
The hub is delivering drought resilience activities that focus on:
- Community skills and capability development
- Agricultural innovation and research
- Supporting indigenous business growth opportunities
- Increasing climate data knowledge to help with better decision making
Dr Phelps said that when it comes to helping producers, they have started with the problem in mind, literally. The TNQ Drought Hub has been collecting problems directly from producers since July 2022 in order to ensure all efforts within the hub are dedicated to known problems.
"We know that our region experiences different challenges from other regions, so we have been collecting first-hand accounts from producers about problems they face that impact the sustainability and viability of their business. This enables us to source tech solutions which we can trial or demonstrate on-farm or for more complex issues, to connect them with JCU researchers who make want to turn them into research projects."
A good example of the TNQ Drought Hub making impact through this problem-solution matchup is the recent trial of the Agscent pregnancy breathalyser for cattle. As current pregnancy testing methods are expensive and invasive, producers are looking for solutions that don't break the bank.
"The results of this trial were significant with producers excited about the technologies development. It also had significant impact on the team from the tech company who learnt that the environment and the breeds of cattle in the north are significantly different to what they have experienced in the past."
To aid the adoption of these technologies and other innovative approaches, the hub is currently rolling out a Digital Ag Engagement Program to give producers a 'now' and 'aspire to' comparative report to help them to identify areas of their business that might benefit from innovation or technology uptake. This product was developed with the help of producers to ensure it helps them to identify their gaps and what they need to do to achieve their goals.
"Producers can enter in current information about their farming business under the themes of sustainability, leadership, innovation and technology and then the report will help them identify those areas have the most growth potential."
The hub is also running ag succession and future proofing forums in Cloncurry, Richmond and Hughenden in late July, focussing on succession and negotiation. These forums will also allow participants to have one on one conversations with a succession expert to discuss how make better business decisions that will keep their business in operation.
Dr Phelps said the hub is also developing an Environmental, Social and Governance analysis workbook and educational videos to help build producer knowledge of the benefits and risks for those looking to enter the environmental market space.
"Our hope is that it will help them improve their sustainability, build drought resilience and benefit from environmental markets such as carbon farming, reef credits and biodiversity credits."
These activities and other projects are delivered in partnership with James Cook University, Cape York NRM, Gulf Savannah NRM, Southern Gulf NRM, NQ Dry Tropics, Reef Catchments, and the Fitzroy Basin Association.
At the Northern Beef Producers Expo the TNQ Drought Hub are keen to talk to producers who want to learn more about the hub and what they're doing in the region to build drought resilience through adoption and innovation.
"We want to hear firsthand from the community what they are already doing and what they might need to build on this resilience."
