The second Round Table drought discussion was held this week and focused on the impact on King Island, the consequential issues, future-proofing and more actions needed.
Government departmental representatives, beef producers, and other supply chain stakeholders attended the meeting, held in the Council chambers, with Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE) secretary Jason Jacobi joining the discussions.
Following the conference, Mr Jacobi said that King Island farmers, NRE and supply chain stakeholders need to plan for the future regarding drought on King Island.
“We’ve got to plan for the coming months so that farmers on this island are best prepared for the conditions,” he said.
“Let’s pray for rain. but also, we must plan, in case there is none.”
Initiatives such as appointing a drought coordinator and launching a grants program have already been implemented to support farmers but issues around shipping and transport, fodder availability and animal welfare were highlighted as key ongoing concerns.
“The Tasmanian government is also working very hard to try and resolve some of the shipping issues to get the biggest number of freights across to this island and back to the mainland (Tasmania)… I think the most important thing is to take the information and the advice that we got from farmers today and to put in place some contingency measures over the next week, that are as flexible and as adaptable as possible” Mr Jacobi said.
He emphasised the importance of protecting the King Island brand and said he doesn’t believe that it has been impacted at all.
“Our efforts are focused on making sure that we protect that brand. Our interest is supporting farmers to ensure that the brand has a long and happy life and that’s where I intend to put most of our effort,” Mr Jacobi said.
He acknowledged the island’s need for long-term strategies to address recurring droughts but said that only rainfall will solve the island’s current situation. King Island Mayor Marcus Blackie also attended the second Round Table and, while positive, he had concerns following the meeting.
“It’s great to see the state of Tasmania pouring in resources to try and assist our current drought situation and that the secretary of the department of NRE personally and his team are across,” Mr Blackie said.
“We’ve made some progress destocking the island, and we’re going to have an 18-month to two-year economic impact on King Island.
“It may well be an 18-month time frame before King Island’s in a position to be able to increase herd sizes and get back to some semblance of where we were before (this season).
“That presupposes that we will get the rainfall we need and then the fertiliser we need.”
Mr Blackie said that the council must be mindful of the drought’s economic impact across the whole of King Island’s economy and also on the council’s budget. “The last thing we want to do is put up rates and charges,” he said.
Beef Producers Group president and farmer Nick Lyttle said that the meeting was productive despite a few frustrations in the room.
“I think the departments have heard the message loud and clear and know what to work on. Being the second-round table, I think those messages are getting clearer and hopefully there’s some action,” Mr Lyttle said.
“The main frustration is that we’re hearing time and time again from the community as a whole is the issue with the shipping.
“The second sailing has definitely helped get some cattle off – but the demand for our cattle and the market for our cattle is now to the north, particularly for the next few months.
“Some cattle producers have contracts with Tasmanian abattoirs.
“We’re asking for triangular sailing so we can still service the contracts in Tasmania, but as the winter months come, there’s more agistment or store cattle sale opportunities to the north, a dearer market, and with a triangular service we can send them to the north.”
Mr Lyttle believes there is enough farming business for the shipping companies to have the triangular service.
“It might be for nine months of the year, but they can backload with other freight,” he said.
“The recent small rainfall has helped farmers south of the airport as the grass has shot up, but there needs to be follow-up rain while temperatures are still warm for growth up north [of the island] … the recent rain is more sentiment than anything.”
There are concerns around animal welfare.
“The chief vet is over here to give us guidelines on what’s shippable or not, what to look out for and treatments,” Mr Lyttle said.
The dry has highlighted the issues of overstocking when there’s a history of plenty, and the ability and critical need for quick action to maintain stocking rates, ensure good animal welfare and the consequences of the island’s vulnerability with high shipping risk.