Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub

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Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub

We link farmers with the latest research and innovations to encourage drought preparedness and climate resilience.

The Vic Hub is funded through the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund.

11/06/2026

Curiosity is a pretty good place to start.

Before the inaugural AgVenture Expo got underway this morning at SuniTAFE SMART Farm in Mildura, Vic Hub Soil Coordinator Dr Peter Fisher (centre), MRIC Project Officer Paul McClure (left) and MRIC Ag Manager Alina Saeed (right) were preparing for a day built around young people, practical learning and future food production.

Peter is running soil-health activities where students can get their hands dirty and think about what is happening below the surface, and why it matters for productive, resilient farming systems.

MRIC is also there as the Vic Hub’s North-West Irrigated Horticulture Node lead, helping connect students with the people, ideas and technologies shaping horticulture and agriculture across the region.

The day is a chance for students to see that ag careers are much broader than they might first imagine, spanning soils, irrigation, ag-tech, science, machinery, analytics, training, processing and more.

It also gives students a practical look at the kinds of problems agriculture needs people to help solve, from drought and climate pressure to changing production demands.

For many students, this may be their first proper look at how broad modern agriculture has become.

🔗 Read more: https://vicdroughthub.org.au/news-events/news-articles/article/agventure-expo-where-innovation-grows-curiosity?utm_campaign=general_awareness_2026

04/06/2026

June is looking busy across Victoria’s ag calendar.

The Vic Hub events page has a handy round-up of workshops, conferences, expos and field days coming up this winter and beyond, covering farm decision-making, climate resilience, drought support, women in agriculture, feedbase planning, regional development, AI, robotics and new water outlooks.

Current listings include AgVenture Expo and AI, robotics & new water outlooks in Mildura, Smart Decisions workshops in Harrow and Hamilton, the Nature on Farms Symposium, Turning challenges into opportunities, the AWiA National Conference, Thriving Women conference, Feedbase Focus, Regions Rising and AgriFocus.

Some are Vic Hub Node events. Others are partner or broader ag-industry events that may be useful for farmers, advisers, researchers and regional communities working in drought resilience.

🔗 See what’s coming up: https://vicdroughthub.org.au/news-events/events?utm_campaign=general_awareness_2026

02/06/2026

Winter is here, and seasonal conditions are still shifting across Victoria.

The Vic Hub’s latest newsletter brings together practical drought-resilience updates from across the state, with current information, local projects and useful links to help farmers, communities and partners plan ahead.

Inside this edition:
• our new Impact Snapshot 2021–25
• the Vic Hub Impact Framework
• Stephanie Rosestone’s Museum of Future Water recognition
• Green Dams work in Gippsland
• Smart Decisions workshops in South-West Victoria
• biodiversity, grants, drought-support options and upcoming events

Seasonal conditions remain variable, but good information, local delivery and trusted regional partnerships can help farmers and communities make clearer decisions before pressure builds.

🔗 Find it in the Newsletter section of our website.

29/05/2026

Future food-and-fibre careers start with days such as this.

Today, some 450 secondary students from across northern Victoria visited The University of Melbourne’s Dookie Campus for Food & Fibre Careers Day 2026, exploring the multitude of pathways behind agriculture, food production and regional industries.

Ag needs young people who can bring curiosity, practical skills and new thinking to a changing climate.

That makes Dookie Campus the perfect spot for today’s event, which just happens to be the largest food and fibre careers event in Victoria. As the home of working farms, agricultural teaching and research, and the Vic Hub’s HQ, Dookie Campus gave the secondary students a practical look at the skills, science, people and technologies shaping agriculture.

In the photo, students from a Shepparton school are pictured with Farm Business Resilience Program bags in hand, taking part in a day designed to help them see where they might fit in the sector.

Both the Farm Business Resilience Program and the Vic Hub are supported through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, which invests in practical drought resilience across farms, communities and regions. It’s a neat link!

🔗 Learn more about the Vic Hub: https://vicdroughthub.org.au/?utm_campaign=general_awareness_2026

21/05/2026

Today marks the United Nations’ International Day for Biological Diversity.

Biodiversity is part of the living system that helps farms prepare for, respond to and recover from dry conditions.

Healthy soils, native vegetation, pollinators, beneficial insects, shelterbelts, wetlands and waterways all play a role in how well a landscape can handle climate stress.

In practical terms, biodiversity can help buffer the impacts of drought and other climate extremes.

The 2026 Biodiversity Day theme, “Acting locally for global impact”, neatly captures the work happening across Victorian farming regions to strengthen drought resilience from the ground up.

Much of that resilience starts below the surface. The Vic Hub’s soil extension report highlights the importance of soil-management practices that improve both productivity and the sustainability of the natural resource base.

That local, practical work is the focus of our Biodiversity Day article, which looks at why supporting biodiversity on farms is part of building drought-ready landscapes.

🔗 Read the article: https://vicdroughthub.org.au/news-events/blog/biodiversity-day-drought-resilience-starts-with-biodiversity?utm_campaign=general_awareness_2026

20/05/2026

Our new Impact Snapshot 2021–25 highlights how region-led, practical drought-resilience activities are supporting Victorian farmers and communities.

The publication captures the value of the Vic Hub’s decentralised model, connecting local knowledge, research, industry and community to deliver practical outcomes on the ground.

Since 2021, the Vic Hub has supported:
• 137 projects
• 80 trials and demonstrations
• 190 partnerships
• 9,412 participants across Victoria

🔗 Read the publication in the Update section of our website.

19/05/2026

A drought-resilience project has just been recognised in a very different kind of space: the Victorian museums and galleries sector.

Vic Hub Drought-Resilience Scholarship awardee Stephanie Rosestone’s Museum of Future Water has been highly commended in the Volunteer-run Project of The Year category at the 2026 Victorian Museums and Galleries Awards.

Stephanie’s work explores critical and creative futures thinking, with a focus on water-related issues in the Murray-Darling Basin and how communities can build resilience in the face of uncertain water futures.

Her work is a strong example of how drought-resilience research can connect with creative practice, community learning and new ways of understanding complex regional challenges.

🔗 Read more on the Vic Hub website: https://vicdroughthub.org.au/news-events/news-articles/article/stephanie-rosestone-recognised-for-museum-of-future-water?utm_campaign=project_2026

Caption: Stephanie Rosestone (right) is pictured with Angela Henricksen (left) of Archival Survival. Stephanie’s Museum of Future Water received a Highly Commended in the Volunteer-run Project of the Year. Photo: Peter Casamento.

01/05/2026

A beautiful morning on Yorta Yorta Country.

Some 100 people joined the Walk for Truth 2026 Dookie stopover at Dookie Campus this morning (265km into Travis’s 820km journey!) for a community breakfast, Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by Nikki James, singing from Madi Colville Walker and dancing by the wonderful Wulumbarra Dancers – all proud Yorta Yorta people.

Students from the Academy of Sport, Health and Education (ASHE) in Shepparton presented a visibly moved Travis with a message stick and possum skin.

Students, Dookie township residents, and University of Melbourne staff from the Department of Rural Health and Dookie Campus (home of the Vic Hub HQ) joined in support of truth-telling.

More to come next week.

The University of Melbourne Academy Of Sport Health and Education - ASHE

02/02/2026

Weather whiplash, livestock recovery after fire, honeybee health, drought-declaration statements and more – our latest Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub brings together practical resources, project updates and upcoming events to help you plan for the season ahead. Read it online directly, or via our website.

🔗 Find the newsletter directly: https://mailchi.mp/vicdroughthub/2026-january-february-newsletter-29-vic-drought-innovation-hub-17351680

🔗 Find it on our website: https://vicdroughthub.org.au/news-events/newsletters/newsletter/newsletter-29-jan-feb-2026

Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

15/01/2026

While the immediate fire threat to many farms and agricultural areas is easing, it has by no means passed, and our thoughts are with everyone affected.

Our regional nodes and local farming systems groups are here to stand alongside you through recovery.

If you need a hand, reach out to your local group and explore the bushfire support information and contacts on our website. You will also find information on how you can help.

🔗 https://vicdroughthub.org.au/news-events/news-articles/article/victorian-bushfire-support-update

Address

940 Dookie-Nalinga Road
Dookie College, VIC
3647

Website

https://www.vicdroughthub.org.au/

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