Vegetable growers in NSW have faced additional challenges over recent years due to extreme or prolonged rain causing flooding, as well as dry or storm events that impact on varying stages of crop production and farm profitability. While extreme weather events are generally outside the control of growers, there are things that can be put in place to be better prepared, reduce risks and support a return to production more quickly.

Reducing farm biosecurity risks associated with extreme weather events, especially storms and flooding, was the focus of the Building Biosecurity Capacity and Resilience within the NSW Vegetable Industry project, funded by the Australian and NSW Government’s Storm and Flood Industry Recovery Program with support from AUSVEG.

Supporting those who support growers

NSW Vegetable Biosecurity Community of Practice (CoP)

A Community of Practice (CoP), comprising of agronomists, service providers, researchers and other industry representatives, has been running since late 2023. The goal is to support those supporting vegetable growers to make informed and timely crop management decisions. The CoP meets quarterly online to discuss seasonally and regionally specific topics and issues associated with pest, disease and weed management. The group also provided input into project activities. A guest speaker also presents on a current issue or relevant research. Further information can be found here.

• AUSVEG’s NSW Biosecurity flood recovery project supporting those who support growers: article, Australian Grower Magazine, Autumn 2025

Engagement activities

Having confidence that the farm is prepared, that time-critical, informed decisions can be made under pressure, and appropriate responses following a severe weather event are undertaken all combine to support a more resilient business. Field days, training workshops, drop-in sessions and one-on-one farm visits were conducted. These events were developed in partnership with local agencies, advisors and agribusinesses to ensure topics and guidance to growers was appropriate for the growing region.

Managing weather associated biosecurity risks

• Identifying Biosecurity Risks Associated with Wet Weather Events- Video
• Managing On-Farm Biosecurity Risks in Wet Weather Events- printable fact sheet

Pest and disease identification and management

Fact sheets

• Integrated Pest Management & Spray Management- printable fact sheet
• Spray Water Quality- printable fact sheet
• Vegetable leafminer grower guide: English, Vietnamese, Arabic, Simplified Chinese- printable fact sheets
• Clubroot management in brassica vegetables- printable fact sheet

Technical expert videos

• Managing Clubroot After Wet Weather Events- Video
• Managing Diamondback Moth in Brassica After Wet Weather Events- Video
• Pest and beneficial identification for vegetable IPDM – A guide for NSW vegetable agronomists, Andy Ryland (IPM Consulting)- Webinar video
• Recognising vegetable crop diseases – A guide for NSW vegetable agronomists, Dr Len Tesoriero (Crop Doc Consulting)- Webinar video

Grower case study videos

• Flood Impacts are Indirect Too, Freemans Reach, Sydney Basin- Video
• The Impact of Major Flooding on Vegetable Crops, Camden, Sydney Basin- Video

Using weather information to inform decisions

Case study trial

The project investigated benefits of local weather with growers in different growing regions of NSW. Between November 2024-February 2025, these growers were supported to use:

1. Jane’s Weather Hyper-Local Forecasting (janesweather.com)
2. Swan System’s Daily Weatherwise Updates (swansystems.com); and
3. Continue to use the Bureau of Meteorology (bom.gov.au).

This period encompasses the months when NSW growers have encountered major weather events in recent years. Their decisions were monitored during key weather events in that period- storms/ humidity in the Sydney Basin, and dry/hot/windy conditions in the Central Tablelands to inform case studies.

• Confident decisions using easy access weather forecasts (printable case studies)
• Local weather modelling aids on-farm planning: article, Australian Grower Magazine, Autumn 2025

Selecting weather forecast platforms

Access to reliable and user-friendly weather forecasting platforms is a game-changer for vegetable growers. Here’s some pointers to consider:

Accuracy: Choose platforms that provide precise weather data relevant to your farm’s specific location, growing conditions and farm systems.

Ease of Use: Opt for systems that present information in a clear, intuitive format for easy interpretation and decision-making. Look at the dashboard on both your PC and smartphone, and if you prefer to receive information in an email or text format, explore these options.

Range of Features: Look for platforms offering comprehensive data, including rainfall, wind, temperature, evapotranspiration and humidity predictions. An ability to set-up weather alerts is advantageous.

Subscription Options: Evaluate the differences between free and subscription-based services to determine which one meets your needs best.

The project conducted a national webinar on using weather forecasts to make more informed planning, preparation and response decisions:

• Hyper-local weather forecasting for NSW growers- Jane’s Weather, AgLogic & Growers Case Studies- webinar video
• Hyperlocal weather forecasting for growers with Jane’s Weather- podcast

Business recovery

Description

A gross margin budget can be used to compare crop scenarios and associated risk implications. After a severe weather event, decisions may be required dependent upon the type and extent of damage to the current crop, and what to plant for the following crop dependent upon post-event site conditions. The project has developed a tool to help growers make informed economic decision on whether to harvest the current crop and what crop/s and management decisions will best assist them to financially recover.

The tool is designed to be used by growers with the support of their trained farm advisors.

A gross margin represents the difference between gross income and the variable costs of producing the crop. Typically, they do not include permanent labour, but this tool includes this input to understand the implications of labour to harvest and process a potentially inferior product caused by a weather event. While a choice can be made to include labour in this budget, the focus on a crop/enterprise level means farm level overhead costs, such as machinery depreciation and interest payments, are not included in gross margin budgets, so they do not calculate farm profit.

• Using the NSW Vegetable Crops Gross Margin Budget Tool- printable guidelines
• Download the NSW Vegetable Crops Gross Margin Budget Tool (Excel Format)

Operations will vary from field to field, and between farms and regions. These budgets provide an indication only and vegetable farmers are advised to tailor their own budgets to the requirements of individual crops and paddocks.

Acknowledgements

The project team would like to thank all the growers, agronomists and organisations who supported events and activities through this project. These included Allandale Produce, Simplot Australia, Mulyan Farms, Grech Farms Trading, IPM Consulting, Crop Doc Consulting, Applied Horticultural Research (ahr) via the Soil Wealth ICD Project, Greater Sydney, North Coast & Central Tablelands Local Land Services, Ace Ohlsson, AgriWest, Lindsay Rural, Elders Australia, Ag Econ, NSW DPIRD, QDPI, Southern Cross University, University of Western Sydney, Biological Services, BioWorks, Oz Group, Jane’s Weather, Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand, AgLogic & RADCO Agricultural.

The Industry Building Biosecurity Capacity and Resilience within the NSW Vegetable project has been funded under the Storm and Flood Industry Recovery program, jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments, and supported by AUSVEG. 

Although funding for this product has been provided by both Australian and NSW governments, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views of either government.