Twenty rural landholders in the ACT will share in $287,204 of ACT Government funding, designed to improve farm resilience to the changing climate.

Rebecca Vassarotti, ACT Minister for the Environment, said that strengthening the resilience of rural lands is critical to ensuring the wellbeing and prosperity of the ACT’s rural landholders who collectively manage 15 per cent of the ACT.

“Climate change and the cumulative effectives of droughts and severe weather events pose clear and present risks and challenges to ACT rural landholders and the lands for which they manage,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“These Rural Resilience Grants support ACT farmers to improve their natural assets, like soil and waterways, and build their capacity to continue their important work throughout warmer and drier periods.”

The 2023-2024 program (the first since 2020-21) funded individual farm households or groups of farmers to address land management challenges and to:

• Reduce the immediate impact of drought and builds longer-term farm enterprise and landscape resilience (Stream 1 – projects up to $20,000 were funded)
• Reduce the extent and impact of weeds and pest animal incursions, and achieve biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture outcomes that will benefit ACT’s rural lands and adjacent public lands long-term (Stream 2 – projects up to $10,000 were funded)
• Address erosion, reduce sedimentation of farm creeks, rivers, dams, and wetlands, and improve the health of these (Stream 3 – projects up to $30,000 were funded)

The ACT Government received 35 applications to the value of $520,147.

Ms Vassarotti said this demonstrates “the desire our farmers have to turn their extensive knowledge and understanding of resilient land management practises into action”.

Ron McKeahnie received more than $24,000 to stop soil erosion on Reedy Creek, Majura, and improve water quality on a tributary of the Molonglo River.

“While benefiting our farm, this work will also benefit the ACT community by reducing soil washing down Reedy Creek and into the Molonglo River and Lake Burley Griffin, and restoring the creek banks,” Mr McKeahnie said.

Another grant recipient, Kevin Reid, said the rural resilience grants helped him and his family respond to the changing climate.

“I’ve always found that building and maintaining farm infrastructure is an essential element of modern farming,” Mr Reid said. “Times and climatic conditions are sometimes challenging, so planning is essential.

“The ACT Rural Resilience grants program, whereby the government and farmers co-operate in both funding and building resilience related infrastructure has been a godsend.”

“Our family farm has directly benefitted from past and present resilience funding, and we are now in a significantly better position when it comes to facing the inevitable conditions of flood, fire, and drought.  Congratulations to the ACT Government for this much appreciated high quality program.”

Ms Vassarotti said: “I congratulate the successful recipients, and look forward to seeing the difference this funding will make to the land as well as our landholders.”