Community
20 August, 2025
Water security draws farmers
FARMERS gathered to discuss water security in the Heytesbury region at a crucial meeting last Wednesday.
With drought conditions persisting, the meeting was held in Simpson and provided the opportunity for farmers to begin discussions on how to find a solution for securing water for stock.
United Dairy Farmers of Victoria (UDV) president Bernie Free said the meeting was productive and stayed on topic throughout the evening.
“There were about 45-50 farmers there and they were all really focused on the issue and didn’t get side-tracked,” he said.
“I was a bit surprised – I thought other issues might come up but they were really focused on what we had to say.
“They were asking really good questions on what the constraints were and why they couldn’t do X, Y and Z.
“We had some butcher’s paper there where they wrote all their good points and bad points on our suggestions.
“We committed to getting some extra information for them which we’re working on now.”
Mr Free said many great points were brought up by the attendees about what was viable for them when it came to water security.
“We talked about what the issue is with building new dams and how we can build new dams, so we committed to getting all the facts we could about rules and how to go about doing that,” he said.
“We talked about how the climate is variable and we do have droughts and we do have times when it’s really wet and how during these dry times in the past there’s been issues with water in Heytesbury – if we work together we can hopefully come to a long-term solution that solves their concerns.
“This can’t be solely driven by me or any individual – it has to be driven by the community in that region and will take the community coming together to find a solution.
“We’re really open to listening to what they have to say but we have to work within the constraints.
“I was very happy and really appreciative of their constructive input whether it was criticism or support – that’s what we wanted to hear.”
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