This session explores The Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub's four-stage drought model, that reflects the lived experiences of farmers in our regions. The model introduces "Uncertain Times" as a critical stage that is not reflected in the traditional three-stage model, recognising the ambiguity and early warning signs that often precede drought conditions. Presenters will explain the model, share real-world applications from Victorian and South Australian contexts, and invite attendees to join in the discussion on how the model supports farmers and advisors with more timely and effective decision-making.

In 2021 a network of eight Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs were set up across Australia as part of the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund. Hubs share overarching goals to support increased uptake of practices that reduce on-farm exposure to risk, and to achieve this through a place-based delivery model that encourages collaboration across organisations and networks in research, development, extension, and adoption. Each Hub's model is shaped by its organisational context and the broader landscape of local partners and networks in which we work. This session draws on the collective experiences of Hub knowledge brokers to explore the practical realities of how we work to connect with farmers in our region, leveraging existing groups and networks to better connect and integrate research on-farm.

The Mallee Regional Innovation Centre is a partner in the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub. The Centre's role in the Vic Drought Hub is that of the North-West Irrigated Horticulture Node. The Node has a particular focus on horticulture and drought.
Through a formal process the Node has been consulting people in North-West Victoria about their experiences and ideas around drought. The Node used a tool kit developed specifically by the Vic Drought Hub. The kit sets the framework to undertake formal in-depth consultations with stakeholders.
The Node has held two formal blocks of drought consultations which included a wide range of stakeholders, such as organisations, associations and irrigation enterprises including almonds, table grapes, citrus, dried vine fruits, and summer fruits.
Two formal reports were released which capture the process, findings and opportunities identified out of this process to help build drought resilience. This information has formed the basis for a number of projects and activities. This session will look at the process from development of the tool kit through to project development after the consultations.

This panel discussion will bring together policy makers from the MDBA and Basin States with researchers from the Murray-Darling Water and Environment Research Program (MD-WERP) to discuss science needs from the perspective of policy makers and how MD-WERP and other research programs are meeting these research needs.

Understanding a farming system and the key decisions that farmers make is essential for designing effective agricultural research and solutions. Farmers' decisions are influenced by a complex interplay of biophysical, economic, social and institutional factors.
In this workshop we will examine how to adopt a farming systems perspective, so researchers can diagnose problems, identify constraints, and integrate farmers' objectives into the design of technological solutions. This approach ensures that research addresses the unique challenges and opportunities within a particular farming system. Attendees will have the opportunity to receive feedback on their research ideas or questions to a panel including Riverine Plains, Southern Farming Systems and Birchip Cropping Group.

Collaboration is key to impactful research, but what makes it successful? This session presents case studies, frameworks and real-world experiences to provide insights into what works - and why - in research collaborations for drought resilience.
With a focus on cross-sector and interdisciplinary partnerships, this session will showcase case studies that highlight real-world collaboration across agriculture research, practice, and mental health. Involving diverse regions, industries, and institutions, the session will share practical insights, tips, and common pitfalls in interdisciplinary collaboration, emphasising what worked, what didn't, and how challenges were overcome.
Engage with expert presentations and discussion to exchange insights and plan future approaches to tackle complex challenges together.

Collaboration is widely encouraged across academia, industry, and government and, when done well, it can be highly effective. But what does collaboration really look like in practice? How much collaboration is needed to achieve the desired goals? What support makes it work and when might cooperation or coordination be a better fit?
Poorly structured partnerships can drain time and resources without delivering results. Success requires more than good intentions- it depends on the right people, timing, systems, and a fit-for-purpose approach. Join us to explore a new model to help guide your next collaboration strategy.

Presenters in this panel are members of the interdisciplinary research project "Parched: Cultures of Drought in Regional Victoria", that has been funded under the Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative. The project brings together scholars from the environmental humanities, media, creative arts and climate science to expand knowledge of how we can better adapt to the environments on which we depend. Concentrating on four Victorian regions and their NSW borderlands - Mildura, Bendigo, Albury/Wodonga and Shepparton, we explore the historic, artistic, media, cultural and scientific aspects of past and present droughts: Federation (1895-1903), World War II (1937-1945), the Millennium (1997-2009), and the Tinderbox (2017-2019). Our research and oral history interviews have been deployed by artists-in-residence to develop place-based responses to drought which have been exhibited in regional galleries and venues in Victoria. The four individual presentations will be followed by reflections from the team on their collaboration, focusing in particular on how they have integrated their diverse disciplinary expertise into the project, and how this has shaped the project outcomes.