Drought planning is not about guessing the weather. It is about knowing exactly how long your feed and water will last, where your weak points are, and what you will do when trigger points are hit. Use this guide to tighten your plan before conditions bite.
TL;DR
- Count what you have and how long it lasts. Turn bales, silage and water into days of supply using the quick formulas below.
- Protect quality. Dry, covered fodder with vermin control and FIFO rotation saves 5–15% in losses.
- Set trigger points now. Decide when to buy feed, sell stock, or switch to containment.
- Water first. Confirm daily demand, pipeline flow, pump redundancy and test water quality.
- Write it down. A simple one-page plan shared with the team beats a truckload of wishful thinking.
Part 1: Feed Storage that Survives a Dry Spell
1) Stocktake and convert to days of feed
Use dry matter (DM) to compare apples with apples.
Daily DM intake rules of thumb
- Cattle: 2.0–2.5% of liveweight per day
- Sheep: 2.0–3.0% of liveweight per day
- Goats: 2.5–3.0% of liveweight per day
Quick formula
Days of feed = (Total feed DM tonnes × 1,000) ÷ (Head count × daily DM kg per head)
Example
- 100 cows at 500 kg, eat ~2.2% BW → 11 kg DM/day
- You have 120 t DM on hand
- Days = (120 × 1,000) ÷ (100 × 11) ≈ 109 days
Repeat this for each mob and feed type so you can see where the gaps are.
2) Choose the right storage and protect quality
Hay
- Target safe storage moisture (rule of thumb): small squares ≤18%, large squares ≤16%, rounds ≤15%.
- Best: enclosed hay shed with airflow and pallets.
- If tarping: use pallets or sleepers, breathable tarps, good tie-down angles, and a vermin line.
- Stack safely. Leave firebreaks and do not trap heat. Use a moisture probe on suspect lots.
Silage
- Aim for 30–40% DM (bales slightly higher DM than pit).
- Seal well, repair holes immediately, keep a clean face on pits.
- Keep rodents and birds off. Surface losses surge when plastic is compromised.
Grain and by-products
- Keep dry, cool and vermin-proof.
- Use sieves, magnets and meters where possible. Test energy (ME), protein (CP), NDF where relevant.
- Introduce slowly with buffers where acidosis is a risk.
Loss control
- Typical unprotected losses can hit 5–15%. Simple fixes like pallets, vermin baiting, tidy aprons, and weather-tight covers often pay for themselves within a season.
3) Buy smart and manage biosecurity
- Lock in supply early and confirm delivery windows.
- Request a Fodder Vendor Declaration to reduce weed and contamination risks.
- If feed comes from interstate, check your quarantine obligations and keep paperwork.
4) Feed rotation, ration design and containment
- Use FIFO rotation so the oldest and most vulnerable lots are used first.
- Build rations around your limiting nutrient. Balance energy, protein and fibre.
- Consider stock containment areas for core breeders to protect pastures and reduce walking for water.
5) Trigger points you can act on
Write these in your plan. Examples:
- Pasture cover < 800 kg DM/ha → move core breeders to containment.
- Days of feed < 45 for core mob → buy contracted hay or sell non-productive stock.
- Hay shed at 70% capacity with < 60 days on hand → initiate fodder tender.
Part 2: Water Planning that Does Not Fail at 40°C
1) Work out daily demand and days of supply
Typical daily drinking water
- Cattle: 40–100 L/head/day (higher in hot weather or lactation)
- Sheep: 4–10 L/head/day
- Horses: 25–50 L/head/day
Always adjust for heat, lactation, walking distance and salinity.
Demand formula
Daily demand (L) = Head count × L/head/day × Hot weather factor
Use 1.3–1.5 as a hot weather factor for planning.
Days of water on hand
Days = Total storage (L) ÷ Daily demand (L)
2) Flow rate and reticulation capacity
Peaks matter more than averages. Animals often drink in short bursts.
Rule of thumb
Design for 10% of the mob to drink within 10 minutes without drawing the trough down.
Flow example
- 400 ewes at 6 L/day average → 2,400 L/day
- Peak 10% in 10 minutes ≈ 240 L in 10 min → 24 L/min minimum at the trough
Check pipe diameters, friction losses, pump curves and trough valve performance. If you have long runs or rises, step up pipe sizes or add break tanks.
3) Storage, redundancy and power
- Spread risk: multiple tanks on separate stands or nodes are better than one big point of failure.
- Two pumps, not one. Keep a spare or service kit. Consider solar with battery and a petrol back-up.
- Fit low-level cut-outs to protect pumps.
- Add telemetry or simple float switches with alarms for remote checks.
4) Water quality and animal health
- Test for TDS/salinity, pH, turbidity, and where relevant blue-green algae.
- Clean troughs regularly. High TDS or algae reduces intake and performance.
- If switching to bore or saline sources, acclimatise gradually and consult local thresholds.
5) Dams and catchments
- Desilt critical dams in the cool season.
- Fence off to control access and reduce pugging. Provide troughs below the dam wall where feasible.
- Maintain catch drains and protect spillways so a storm actually converts to stored water.
6) Written trigger points
Examples to put in your plan:
- Any tank < 30% or dam below a marked stake → move to Stage 2 water roster.
- Two consecutive days where trough level alarms trigger → inspect lines, valves and pumps.
- Forecast 38°C+ for three days → pre-fill all storages and start generator test cycle.
Part 3: Money, Logistics and People
- Build a simple cash-flow forecast for the dry months. Include line items for feed, freight, fuel, cleaning, water-system parts, and hired help so you can see where pressure points might hit.
- If you use a lender or accountant, review your seasonal cash-flow plan early to explore flexible payment or funding options. If not, create your own reserve or contingency budget for critical repairs and inputs.
- Look into Farm Management Deposits (FMDs) or local drought-preparedness programs that let you smooth income between good and bad years.
- Share the plan with family and staff. Make it clear who checks what, how often, and what to do if something fails, whether that’s a pump, a fence, or the feed roster.
Ready-to-use checklists
Feed checklist
☐ Full stocktake by type: hay, silage, grain, supplements
☐ Convert to DM tonnes and days of feed for each mob
☐ Moisture checked and stacks secured
☐ Vermin control and tarp integrity checked
☐ Fodder Vendor Declarations on file
☐ FIFO rotation marked on stacks
☐ Containment area ready if needed
☐ Trigger points defined and dated
Water checklist
☐ Head counts and daily L/head confirmed for each class
☐ Days of water on hand calculated
☐ Peak flow rate at troughs measured and meets target
☐ Pumps serviced, spare on hand, generator tested
☐ Tanks, lines and valves inspected for leaks and restrictions
☐ Water quality tested (TDS, pH, algae where relevant)
☐ Telemetry/alarms working, numbers saved in phones
☐ Trigger points defined and dated
Simple Worksheet You Can Copy
Feed
- Mob: __________ Number: ______ Liveweight avg: ______ kg
- Intake (%) ______ → Daily DM/head: ______ kg
- Feed on hand: ______ t DM → Days of feed: ______ days
Water
- Mob: __________ Number: ______ L/head/day plan: ______ L
- Hot factor: ______ → Daily demand: ______ L
- Storage total: ______ L → Days on hand: ______ days
- Required flow at trough: ______ L/min (10% in 10 minutes rule)
Final Word
The best drought plans are boring on paper and brilliant in practice. If you can answer “how long will our feed and water last, and what will we do when X happens”, you are already ahead of the season. Start with the numbers, protect quality, build redundancy, and write down your trigger points so decisions are easy when the pressure is on.
