00:00These sheep are hungry for fodder. Hamish Robertson might have to sell land or more of his flock to pay for it.
00:10So he's having tough conversations with his bank.
00:13They're saying, no, you can't have any more money. And you're like, well, what do I do?
00:17Do I feed the sheep? I can't afford to feed them. I can't afford not to feed them.
00:21Hamish is also studying for an agricultural scholarship.
00:24The sheep meat and wool producer is researching how to be more financially resilient during a drought.
00:30He's inspired after visiting successful farms with multiple income streams.
00:36If you have a diverse enterprise and you have a bit of cash flow that's not affected by weather so much, it can really help.
00:43It might look green in southwest Victoria, but rain falls at record low levels for the past year and a half.
00:49But Darren Sherman's innovations mean his lambs are doing well.
00:54He spent decades creating a system where he divides his sheep into special paddocks, depending on their life stages, often related to pregnancy.
01:03It helps with feed efficiency and means he hasn't had to sell sheep.
01:07So he'll send their lambs to market for high prices.
01:10In these years, there's opportunities. And if we can get in early and get the stock, keep them healthy, get the lambs on the ground, I think the reward is going to be there at the other end.
01:22Hamilton's the hub of this region. It was once touted as the wool capital of the world.
01:27Back then, booming profits created immense wealth. But that's in the past. Wool's now just one of many farming sectors.
01:35And it seems data and technology will be crucial to surviving this drought and those into the future.
01:42These local agricultural students visit farms and get advice using virtual reality.
01:48They're learning how to use the latest technology to track what's happening in the paddocks.
01:53The data is driving their efficiency, their decision making, their profitability, productivity and their resilience.
01:59Learning new techniques to tackle droughts now and into the future.
02:04The data is机 and the data.
02:13The data is driving wreaking out of water and the equipment where we all live.
02:17The data is critical to being virtual, moving to our supply chain at home.
02:20The data is in the future.
02:22The data is in the future.
02:24The data is in the future.
02:26The data is in the future.
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