Vital information about feeding and caring for livestock in a drought is now being delivered online by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the free public forums, targeting smaller landholders who have been grappling with drought, would be made available through a series of webinars hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
"The drought planning and recovery free public forums were established in response to the difficulties the prolonged drought posed for the care and management of livestock," Mr Furner said.
"Forums held earlier this year in Clifton, Kingaroy, Stanthorpe, Jimboomba and Karara were well attended however the COVID-19 pandemic has meant these forums could no longer be held as public events.
"As a result, the department has creatively repurposed the forums to make them available through webinars that can be accessed by visiting the 'Animals in drought' portal at, daf.qld.gov.au/animalsindrought."
Mr Furner said three webinars would be held on the 6th, 8th and 11th of May.
"Topics covered during the webinars will include managing climate variability and feeding livestock, land management and recovery from drought, nutritional requirements and drought feeding cattle, animal welfare and duty of care, and euthanasia," he said.
"When registering, people will be able to submit questions for the question and answer session that follows the webinar.
"Online webinars are a terrific vehicle that allows valuable support to continue and I encourage anyone struggling with the effects of drought to register for the webinars."
Mr Furner said the drought planning and recovery forums were established to provide best practice advice about feeding livestock in a drought and making decisions about their future.
"Currently, more than 67 per cent of Queensland is drought declared and initiatives such as the drought planning and recovery forums have been a valuable resource for anyone looking after livestock," Mr Furner said.
"The department's 'Animals in drought' portal is a vital resource when seeking information on how to care for, feed and manage animals when facing drought, and how to prepare for future droughts.
"It is also ensuring small landholders and producers have the essential tools and resources at their fingertips of the options they need to consider when they have to make critical decisions about the future of their animals and their pasture resources."
