L.ADP.2009 - 'Back to Business' Bushfire Recovery Project - Victorian coordinator

Summary

Back to Business (BtB) was an initiative to support bushfire effected red meat producers through the recovery process. The program provided three consultancy sessions aimed at reviewing the farm businesses current situation, prioritising the recovery process and providing a plan for the producers to follow.

Objectives

The objectives of ‘Back to Business’ were:
• To provide all red meat producers in bushfire affected areas the opportunity to participate
• To deploy a state coordinator to partner producers with local farm management consultants
• To increase the capability of producers to better understand their situation, and develop a recovery plan to assist them in getting their business back on track
• To provide the opportunity for ongoing support from a farm management consultant over three sessions

Key findings

The overall satisfaction from Back to Business participants was 9.42 out of 10.
• Ninety-two percent of participants implemented the action plan developed and the rest have partially implemented the plan.
• One Hundred percent of participant would recommend the Back to Business program to other producers affected by a natural disaster.

Benefits to industry

The key benefit of the BtB program for the Red Meat Industry was supporting the recovery process of fire affected producers to return to full productivity as quickly as possible. The strategic nature of the program also supported producers to potentially change their production system to increase future productivity. The BtB program also provided an avenue to engage with producers who have not engaged with MLA and /or a private consultant previously.

MLA action

Evaluation of the program should be undertaken to understand the economic, social, welfare and environmental impact of this investment.

Future research

The provision of one on one farm specific support was highly regarded and supported the recovery process of bushfire affected producers.

The most appropriate timing of this support is difficult, continuous feedback was provided indicating that producers weren’t ready to think strategically about the recovery process and were only focused on the immediate needs such as fencing and feeding.