Over the past three years, BIGG has delivered drought resilience projects in the Barossa and surrounding areas on water innovations, multi species pastures and ewe containment areas. These measures have all created awareness and provided opportunities for producers to learn, however a barrier to adoption is the perceived cost (BIGG conference survey of producers= 59%) of the new idea. This project will model the return on investment, using figures already obtained through the projects, to determine the long-term cost to the farming business. This will help to break down the cost barrier and encourage further adoption of the drought resilience measures of water innovation technology, implementing mixed species pastures and containment ewe sites. The project will provide a value add of information already produced by the Drought Hub’s projects.
Project description:
This project builds on three years of drought resilience work by BIGG in the Barossa region, focusing on water innovations, multi-species pastures, and ewe containment areas. While these initiatives have raised awareness and learning opportunities, adoption is hindered by producers’ concerns over costs. The project will model the return on investment using data from previous BIGG and SA Drought Hub projects to clarify long-term financial impacts and reduce perceived cost barriers, encouraging wider adoption of these drought resilience measures.
Results and insights will be shared through BIGG’s established network via e-newsletters, short case-study videos showcased at the BIGG Conference in early 2025, social media, and collaboration with the statewide containment ewe project. Short videos have proven effective in engaging producers. To further promote adoption, on-farm pasture walks will be held in spring 2024 to showcase mixed species pasture trials and water innovation sites developed in partnership with Flinders University and SARDI. Producer surveys at these events and at project completion will assess adoption success. This project complements previous Drought Hub phases and BIGG initiatives aimed at improving water security, pasture diversity, and sheep production resilience.
Key achievements and results:
In 2025, BIGG continued its project assessing the return on investment (ROI) of three drought resilience measures—water innovation, multi-species pastures, and ewe containment—using data collected over the past three years. The ROI modelling was completed in the first half of the project by John Francis (Agrista), with results translated into educational flyers shared via BIGG’s website and newsletter (readership ~500). Despite seasonal and market challenges, BIGG ran two successful learning events: a pasture walk in October 2024 focused on the multi-species pasture trial and its ROI, and a site visit in March 2025 to a water innovation site. Both events were well received, with evaluations included in earlier progress reports or attached. However, the dry season caused delays in the production of key communications outputs, including three videos and a conference presentation. As a result, this project is being extended beyond mid-2025 to complete the remaining variables.
Further information:
On-farm water technology resources:
- Overview: Cost Benefit Analysis: On-farm Water Technology
- Full report: Cost Benefit Analysis: On-farm Water Technology
Multi-species vs ryegrass-based pasture
- Overview: Cost Benefit Analysis: Multi Species vs Ryegrass-Based Pasture
- Full report: Cost Benefit Analysis: Multi Species vs Ryegrass-Based Pasture
Containment feeding:
- Overview: Cost Benefit Analysis: Containment Feeding
- Full report: Cost Benefit Analysis: Containment Feeding
Project Images
