Department of Agriculture Market Share Analysis for July 2026

Drought in South Australia has placed sustained pressure on farm businesses, including livestock producers. Ongoing feeding requirements, financial pressures and the need to continually reassess business decisions have contributed to significant decision fatigue across the sector. The cumulative impact of drought is often felt as much in decision making as it is in production outcomes.Understanding this, the South Australian Drought Hub (SA Hub) and their partners developed the Early to Mid-Career Farmers Program to strengthen decision making capability and support long term drought resilience. Delivered through peer-to-peer workshops across the state, the program helps producers to make short-term, tactical and long-term strategic decisions to help them prepare for, manage through and recover from drought. The approach creates a locally relevant and trusted environment where participants can focus on the issues most important to their own businesses and build practical skills they can apply immediately.While the impacts of drought vary depending on climate, location and farming systems, uncertainty around the timing of decisions is widely shared. Tony Randall, Knowledge Broker at the SA Hub explains that this is where the program delivers its greatest value. “One thing that is consistent is the timing of decisions and having the confidence that they’re making the right decision,” he says.A central feature of the program is the Drought Resilience, Information and Knowledge Sharing (DRINKS) Framework. The framework supports participants to identify trigger points and actions across the drought cycle, helping them assess what is working well and where further capability is needed. Originally developed by the Victorian Drought Hub with industry partners, it has been adapted for use in South Australia with support from Victorian colleagues, to ensure it is practical and locally relevant.At Newton Pastoral, a mixed enterprise producing cattle, sheep and crops, the progra