Loddon Campaspe
The Loddon Campaspe region is home to the Dja Dja Wurrung, Yorta Yorta, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Peoples, who have lived, worked and cared for their people and resources for many thousands of years.
The region extends from the Macedon Ranges in the south to the Murray River in the north, with the regional hub of Bendigo in the geographic centre of the region. A diverse range of forests and grasslands feature across the Loddon Campaspe, with 5 national parks and 6 state forests and parks.
Agriculture in the Loddon Campaspe includes broadacre cropping, irrigated cropping, grazing and forestry, however, key industries are those driven by the rapidly growing population including health care, construction and education.
The Loddon Campaspe Drought Resilience Plan was produced collaboratively by a wide range of local residents, groups and organisations. A Drought Resilience Reference Group was established to steer the Plan’s development. The group included the Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal Corporation and key stakeholders with expertise in agriculture, regional development, water, governance, community and natural resource management.
Implementing activities in Loddon Campaspe
North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is the Phase One Plan Coordinator for the Loddon Campaspe region, receiving a $380,000 Implementation Grant to coordinate and deliver resilience building activities across the region.
North Central CMA are delivering 10 activities due for completion in the second quarter of 2026.
Activities underway include:
- Dry seasons, strong spirits – a series of events, including mental health and comedy nights, farmer wellbeing sessions, business breakfasts with industry stakeholders, and sustainable agriculture workshops, fostering knowledge-sharing and connection of isolated communities.
- Building capacity and drought resilience in sheep enterprises – workshops, shaped by local producer input and supported by technical experts, to build the productivity, profitability, and resilience of local sheep producers.
- Discovering your natural assets: Building drought resilience through the five opportunity pools – a one-day event to equip farmers and landholders with the knowledge, networks and practical tools to identify and strengthen high-value natural assets on their properties.
- Diversifying water supplies for drought-resilient reserves, parks and gardens –identifying priority open spaces across 9 local government areas, assessing options for alternative water sources and improved water efficiency at each location, developing a region-specific checklist and delivering a regional workshop to share outcomes and strengthen regional collaboration.
- Refresh, Reinvigorate, Renew – Planning for our community’s future – developing drought and climate-focused action plans for Landcare groups in the region and a 20-year vision for the Mid Loddon Sub Catchment Management Network. Workshops will identify priorities, featuring presentations on key themes of sustainable agriculture and mental health, and a community launch event will share outcomes and next steps.
- Central Victorian dry forest repair – promoting dry forest repair techniques, as a contributor to drought resilience and landscape function, through workshops, field days and fact sheets. Biolinks Alliance will work with landholders, Landcare and Connecting Country to showcase practical techniques like ecological thinning, contour ripping and gully ponding.
- Building resilient communities for drought – building the capacity of the regional Landcare network to support the community and environment in the face of a worsening drought outlook due to climate change. The activity will deliver educational and relationship-building activities and incorporate First Nations land management principles into the work of Landcare.
- Pathways for young aspiring farmers to gain hands-on experience of drought resilient production systems – providing a mentored pathway for young, aspiring, farmers to engage with and be mentored by Mount Alexander Regenerative Agriculture Group (MARAG) members, participate in its regenerative agriculture program, and gain foundational knowledge on soils, pastures, and water retention.
- Opportunities for incorporating maize into the farming system in times of drought – a seminar informing farmers in the northern irrigated Loddon Campaspe region about techniques to improve soil health and farm productivity during drought. Topics will include soil carbon, fertiliser choices, planning water requirements, comparing feed options and optimising maize yields.
- Communities driving drought resilience in the Central Goldfields and Loddon Shire – a series of events within the Central Goldfields and Loddon Shire communities to be collaboratively developed by community, farming and Landcare groups.
