‘Back to Business’ Bushfire Recovery Project – NSW Consultant 1

Summary

The 2019/2020 bushfires in NSW, ACT, WA, Vic, Tas and SA affected an
estimated 26,000 livestock producers (approx. 57,000 PICs).

MLA funded one-on-one support sessions with bushfire affected producers and local farm management consultants in New South Wales. The support sessions provided tailored support to develop an individual plan to help get bushfire-affected producers back on track.

This project covered the contracting of one of the consultants in NSW. For a full detail of the outcomes of this program, please see L.ADP.2007 Back to Business State Coordinator - NSW.

Objectives

The objective of this project was to provide one on one support for red meat producers in New South Wales that were impacted by bushfire during 2019/2020. This support would allow producers to return to a profitable enterprise sooner following the affects of the bushfire.

Key findings

The program was well received by industry. For a full detail of the outcomes of this program, please see L.ADP.2007 Back to Business State Coordinator - NSW.

Benefits to industry

The program was valued by participants and enabled recovery. It is recommended that similar support be offered in future natural disasters. The benefit to industry is that producers recover more quickly from natural disasters and are better prepared for how to manage in future.

MLA action

MLA is using the outcomes of this project to assess the overall impact of the Back to Business Bushfire recovery program. Recommendations out of this project will inform the framework for natural disaster preparedness and recovery programs moving forward.

Future research

Recommendation that future disaster-related adoption programs could focus on preparedness for natural disasters, in addition to recovery.