The Future Drought Fund has released two new grant rounds to help build resilience in the Australian outback through drought and climate variability. 

The Federal Government released two new grant rounds involving the long-term trials of drought resilient farming practices program and the resilient landscapes program. 

The long-term trials of drought-resilient farming practices are going into their second round with $40.3 million available through an open competitive grant process for projects worth between $3 million and $8 million from 20224/25 to 2029/30.

Agricultural industries including cereal, broadacre crops, horticulture crops, and livestock have been included in the second round following feedback from the first round. 

The Resilient Landscapes program also has $40 million available through an open competitive grant process for projects between $2 million and $6 million from 2024/25 until 2029/30.

Coonamble farmer Henry Moxham who is the former Coonamble Show Society President said he received funding through the Building Resilient Communities program from the Future Drought Fund to help finance infrastructure upgrades at the Coonamble Showground in 2022. 

The upgrades helped build a new arena, pavilion extension, poultry extension, and cattle shed. 

In total, Mr Moxham said they received $500,000 through the future drought fund. "It was fantastic. I think we received the biggest one they gave out," Mr Moxham said. 

He said the infrastructure at the Coonamble Showground was old and in desperate need of repair. 

"Essentially we injected $500,000 into the local economy.

"We could have kept it running but the funding helped dramatically improve the quality of infrastructure." 

Mr Moxham encouraged other farmers to apply for the Fund. 

"The only thing I would recommend is outsourcing a grant writer because that's I think what got us getting the bigger grant."

As a community organisation where everyone is volunteering, we are all a bit light on time. We thought outsourcing writing the grant application was money well spent."

Grant applications close next month. For more information on the Long-term trials of Drought Resilient Farming Practices Program click here and for the Resilient Landscapes Program click here.