Twelve people from across Western NSW have been selected for the Drought Resilience Leaders mentoring program, charged with the goal of sharing knowledge, skills and experience to benefit local farming opportunities. 

The program is composed of both mentors and mentees, matching agriculture industry workers from across the country. 

Twenty-five year old Rebecca George is a mentee in the program, working to gain the skills that she can bring home to her Nevertire home and the wider community where she works.

“I love the idea of the program having mentors and mentees…you get to work through your goals, chat about your ideas with them,” Ms George said. 

With a Bachelor of Agriculture and Business from the University of England, Ms George has worked in various roles throughout the industry, putting her degree to use working with Angus Australia.

After Covid-19 put her 2020 plans of travelling to Kansas State University to study beef production on hold, she returned to her Nevertire family farm, helping her parents with their operation in what was the first year out of drought.

Nowadays, she has found her place in the Warren district, dividing her time on the farm and as a veterinary nurse in Warren, with clinics in Nyngan, Tottenham and Trangie. 

It has placed her face to face with the effects of drought. 

“I was probably too young to fully understand the millennium drought but I do remember it. This time around I was working part of the farm so got to see the impacts of the daily struggles,” she said.

Ms George is eager to seek out the advice of those who have come before her, and learn from their advice. 

“I'm not too sure what the government expects of the participants in terms of building drought resilience, but it entails building and supporting the next generation of farmers coming out and people all through the supply chain like agronomists and livestock agents, so they've matched keen young people with enthusiastic people already in the industry,” Ms George said. 

In Bourke, farmer Tegan Roberts has also joined the program as a mentee, hoping to utilise the program on her new family property, where they will run goats and cattle. 

“We moved to Bourke when they got the last hit of drought…it was quite dry everywhere and we had the cattle on agistment…we had to sell them off because there was nowhere to put them,” Ms Robers said. 

“I deal with the finances (of our business), I’m wanting to learn what alternative options there are when it comes to drought and having to sell off stock, to see what others have done in the past to get through,” Ms Roberts said. 

Her Bourke home is a far cry from the dairy farm she grew up on, but both have seen her met with drought time and time again, and the seemingly few options that accompany it. 

“I want to build my knowledge and prepare myself. We know there’s going to be another one so it’s time to see what I can learn from those who have more experience,” Ms Roberts said. 

The Drought Resilience Leaders Program is in its second phase, after a successful first round saw another six Western Plains locals become both mentors and mentees on the topic. 

Federal Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said that the program is also a crucial opportunity to learn leadership skills that will help to bring a sense of preparedness to the wider community. 

“The mentoring program joins farmers with experienced industry professionals for a chance to learn about drought preparedness from those who have lived and worked through the issue themselves,” Minister Littleproud said. 

The Drought Resilience Leaders program also has a series of webinars offered until June 2022 with a focus on drought, climate, and supporting resilience on farms and communities, which is available to anyone.