24 March 2025 | A new farm dam enhancement project was launched by Landcare Tasmania early this year, with the aim to help farmers increase their resilience to drought and to establish a number of demonstration sites that can be showcased to the community.
Train-the-trainer workshop session visiting Knowles Kerry's long-term dam project. Photo credit: Karen Brown photography.
Farm dams play an important role in most Tasmanian landscapes, assuring water availability during dry periods for stock and irrigation, and they also act as a refuge for key species in these agricultural landscapes.
“We hope this project, supported by robust modelling of each area, will help Landcarers to identify priority on-ground work and improve catchment health,” said Landcare Tasmania chief executive officer, Peter Stronach.
Train-the-trainer workshops
Farm Dam Enhancement Train-the-Trainer workshops were held across Tasmania in the Leven, Meander, and Coal River catchments. These sessions equipped participants with practical knowledge on farm dam improvements, highlighting their benefits for productivity, biodiversity, and drought resilience. The Australian National University Sustainable Farms team presented their research and scientific findings, demonstrating the positive impacts of farm dam enhancements.
Train-the-trainer workshop session at Richmond Hall before heading out to the field. Photo credit: Karen Brown photography.
Participants explored ways to engage their communities and support farmers in implementing farm dam improvements. A key highlight was visiting a local farm dam in each region, showcasing real-world examples of enhancements at different stages—ranging from newly started projects to one ongoing for more than 40 years.
ANU's Sustainable Farms ecologist Dave Smith looking at water bugs at a farm dam near Richmond during a train-the-trainer workshop in Feb 2025. Photo credit: Karen Brown photography.
The events also featured prioritisation mapping, where participants compared two different mapping models to help identify the best locations for future farm dam enhancement work.
Examining topographical maps of the area during the train-the-trainer session held in Gunns Plains. Photo credit: Landcare Tasmania.
This helped attendees see the bigger picture, understanding how individual farm dams contribute to broader landscape-scale benefits.
Drought resilience was a major focus, with participants learning that enhanced farm dams provide property owners with greater water security during dry periods. Additional benefits discussed included: improved water quality, better stock health, increased biodiversity, natural pest control, and stronger overall ecosystem resilience.
One of the key takeaways was hearing how each landowner's situation is different—while the core principles of farm dam enhancement are relatively simple (such as stock exclusion, revegetation, and adding ecosystem benefits like logs or branches), the challenges of putting these into practice vary greatly by site.
Train-the-trainer session at Penny Laskey's dam in Gunns Plains. Photo credit: Landcare Tasmania.
Having more trained individuals to support landowners is essential, and these events highlighted strategies to assist landowners in overcoming these challenges. These events were delivered by Landcare Tasmania and the Australian National University (ANU).
Field Days
Three field days were also delivered across the catchments - these were designed for farmers, property owners and Landcare members interested in improving farm dams.
Field day south, Richmond. Photo credit: Dawn Green.
Field day south, Richmond. Photo credit: Dawn Green.
Participants visited two farm dams at different stages of enhancement. While there, they heard from the property owners, speakers on animal health and how water quality impacts stock, as well as the important role water bugs play in farm water systems.
The Farm Dam Enhancement Project is being delivered by Landcare Tasmania with support from the TAS Farm Innovation Hub, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
