What a desperate season for us here in the so-called lush district of Western Victoria. Record low rainfall that came too late when it finally arrived meant no autumn growth and decimated paddocks. Rainfall for January was 10 mm over 2 days. February- 7 mm over 2 days March-13 mm over 6 days April-14 mm over 5 days And finally in June 38 mm over 12 days. Actions taken were -to reduce our stocking rate, so some steers were sold off early, and then 172 cows were sent to the Ingleby paddock. However 72 heifers returned back from agistment at Mingawalla. -to provide fibre, energy and nutritional requirements, so cattle were fed straw, pellets and almond hulls. This necessitated employing someone to assist with this very time-consuming job. Currently we have 100 heifers in our feedlot, and with some growth in the paddocks, we are managing to maintain our herd with supplementary feeding. Calving has commenced, and the days have been generally mild in spite of some very cold nights. Hopefully the worst is behind us.