Strong drought resilience starts with local knowledge. The Hub’s Regional Nodes act as trusted, on‑the‑ground connectors who understand what farmers in their area need. They gather and share insights, coordinate local activities, and help farmers access practical, evidence‑based solutions.
Because they live and work in their regions, the Nodes can quickly identify emerging challenges and opportunities. They support farmers by hosting and contributing to field days, workshops, demonstrations, and other events that make new ideas easier to understand and adopt. Their local presence ensures that innovation reaches the people who can use it most.
How the program works
The Many Hands program supports Regional Nodes across eight regions, helping them run locally relevant events, demonstrations, and extension activities.
Those events also provide a platform to gather regional intelligence and understand what matters most to primary producers. Conversations often extend beyond drought preparedness to include seasonal conditions, markets, input costs, climate projections, carbon, and energy transition, which are issues that shape day‑to‑day decision‑making.
By working closely with the Regional Nodes, the Hub helps ensure that knowledge is shared widely and supports all aspects of risk management.
Events hosted by Regional Nodes
Preparing for Drought Workshop
2023/24 was a record-breaking dry season for the Lower South West on the back of a drier than usual winter. This workshop focused on building drought resilience on farm, confinement feeding and deferred grazing, drought and desalination case study and natural capital accounting.
Node: South-West NRM
Date: 23 October 2024
Location: Boyup Brook
Preparing for Feed Shortages and Adaptive Management
Helping farmers to prepare for a drier season, with a focus on feed budgeting, time of calving/lambing, early weaning, strategic culling/destocking, weather and soil monitoring.
Node: South West NRM and PHCC
Date: 4 March 2025
Location: Coolup
Drought Proofing Roadshows
A series of half-day workshops showcasing topics focused on water management including the WaterSmart Dams and WaterSmart Farms projects looking at desalination, feed supply, and confinement feeding.
Node: South West NRM
Workshop 1: 26 March 2025 – Dumbleyung
Workshop 2: 27 March 2025 – Kojonup
Cattle handling and stockmanship – strengthening relationships that support resilient and evolving pastoral systems
A practical two-day workshop focused on upskilling the regional pastoral workforce in low-stress cattle handling. Building resilient, adaptable businesses that are better equipped to manage seasonal variability, respond to drought conditions and meeting animal welfare expectations across the supply chain in trying conditions. Learn more.
Node: Rangelands NRM
Date: 30 June and 1 July 2025
Location: Lyndon Station (Gascoyne region)
Supporting pastoralists in climate resilient practices
Gascoyne Catchments Group Annual Forum: Rehydration and building resilience landscapes – 7 November 2024, Coral Bay
Goldfields Nullarbor Rangelands Biosecurity Association Annual Forum: industry presentations on climate resilience, financial management and mental health management and a presentation on the “Pastoral Business Toolbox for the Southern Rangelands pastoral industry” project – 31 October and 1 November 2024, Kalgoorlie and Mt Vetters Station
Building Resilient Herds: Cattle Reproductive Health Workshop – a series of sessions focused on herd productivity, reproductive efficiency, pasture use, landscape management strategies – 22 July 2025, Gascoyne Station
Node: Rangelands NRM
Video series
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Drought Resilience in Action webinar series
Facey Group’s Drought Resilience in Action webinar series examined Hub and Future Drought Fund project in greater detail, showcasing progress, innovations, and practical insights into building drought-resilient farming systems.
Watch the webinar recordings:
- Making the most of salinity – 18 November 2025
- Coleoptile and root traits for strong wheat establishment – 21 October 2025
- Innovative applications for improving crop health – 18 December 2024
- WaterSmart Dams: maximising efficiency and quality – 3 December 2024
- Natural capital opportunities in farming – 26 November 2024
Node: Facey Group
Demonstrations hosted by Regional Nodes
Southern Forests Carbon Strategy Pilot – Stage 1
This project is looking to identify an appropriate carbon accounting tool relevant to the diverse horticulture farming operations in the Southern Forest region. The pilot facilitated primary producers to strengthen their knowledge, initiated their carbon journey, and identifed emission-reduction strategies that address climate and drought resilience. Learn more.
Node: Southern Forests Food Council
Interconnected weather station network for the south-eastern Wheatbelt
This project aims to establish a dynamic, interconnected network with other local grower groups to enhance regional collaboration in supporting farming decision making and drought resilience practices within the region. It aims to provide growers real-time forecasts and optimise resource management using tools such as GIS mapping, Spraymate and wind forecasting to reduce inputs and waste. This will improve planning with delivery of reliable yield predictions for better resource allocation and long-term strategies. This project will be a collaboration between two Wheatbelt-based Nodes.
Node: Facey Group
Integrated climate data driven decisions for the eastern Wheatbelt
This project focuses on microclimate forecasting and data security. It aims to address the resistance by farmers to share their individual property generated data and increase their confidence in their role as data originators. From this, the project will investigate microclimate forecasting in the region by encouraging and building the readiness of farmers to share their own de-identified farm data. This project will be a collaboration between two Wheatbelt-based Nodes.
Node:Merredin & Districts Farm Improvement Group (MADFIG)
Growing the Bucket – water retention through natural capital
This project aims to demonstrate that the production value of grazing landscape can be increased or maintained by increasing the landscape’s and soil’s ability to retain moisture within the system, lessening the impact of severe droughts.
Node: Northern Agricultural Catchment Council (NACC)
South Coast and Great Southern Node Mini Projects promoting regionally relevant drought resilience practices
Range of ‘mini projects’ across the region.
- Targeted drone spraying to reduce on-farm water use, labour and herbicide costs – testing the efficiency and effectiveness of utilising drones for targeted ground spraying and quantify the potential savings in water.
- Regional saltbush fodder trials, workshop and field trip – exploring sustainable livestock feeding and integrated crop and pasture solutions – Also providing a comprehensive workshop and field trip to educate farmers and advisors about the benefits of saltbush as a sustainable fodder sources for livestock. With Fitzgerald Biosphere Group (FBG), Jerramungup
- Building long-term drought resilience through grower group led perennial planting/ground cover initiatives – planting deep-rooted perennials to provide sheep fodder in times of drought/dry seasons. Wth Southern Dirt, Kojonup
Node: Stirlings to Coast Farmers
Feed quality comparison of annual and perennial pasture mixes from late spring to autumn in South-West WA
This study will compare the feed quality (e.g. crude protein, fibre, metabolisable energy) of annual and perennial pastures at key seasonal stages, including before and after summer rainfall which can reduce annual pasture quality but help perennials grow. The project aims to demonstrate the value of perennial pastures to maintain feed value at key stages.
The project will also provide data suitable for incorporation into Rumen8 software to support livestock diet creation and decision-making.
Six farmers will be engaged across the south-west of WA.
Node: South West NRM
Southern Forests Carbon Strategy Pilot – Stage 2
This demonstration aims to extend the successful initial pilot by engaging a new group of producers in the Southern-Forests region to strengthen their understanding of carbon accounting, establish farm-level baselines, and identify practical emissions-reduction and resilience strategies.
Building on the findings from the first pilot, this stage will:
- Expand participation to up to ten new farming enterprises, representing the diversity of horticultural and mixed-farming systems in the region.
- Provide additional support and training to improve producers’ confidence and data capability.
- Further refine the use of the Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre (PICCC) Greenhouse Accounting Framework (GAF) tools, ensuring they are accessible and relevant to local conditions.
- Develop regionally applicable insights into emission sources and reduction opportunities that also enhance drought resilience.
Node: Southern Forests Food Council
News
- Article, Regional Nodes
- Article, Regional Nodes
- Article, Regional Nodes, Transformation Murdoch
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- Article, Regional Nodes
The Gascoyne Catchments Group Inc recently hosted a two-day, hands-on stock handling workshop at Lyndon Station, led by renowned stockman and educator Steve Burke. The
- Article, Innovation Farmanco, PropaGATE, Regional Nodes, Showcase, Transformation Murdoch, Transformation Whole, X-hub Contour Consulting
- Article, E&A training, Regional Nodes
- Article, Regional Nodes, Water quality testing
- Media Release, Innovation Farmanco, PropaGATE, Regional Nodes, Showcase, Transformation Murdoch, Transformation Whole, X-hub Contour Consulting
- Article, Regional Nodes, Transformation Murdoch
- Article, Regional Nodes, Transformation UWA Natural Capital
- Article, Regional Nodes, Transformation UWA Natural Capital
Resources
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