Reducing the Impact of Bushfires
Fires pose significant risks to the livelihoods of Victorian farmers. Preparation, hazard reduction and proper resourcing of our fire services are all essential to limit the impacts of fires on our farming communities.
The VFF advocates for better management of Victorian crown land (including through hazard reduction burning), increased funding for the CFA and support for volunteer firefighters, assistance to farm businesses dealing with cleanup and fencing replacement, and allowing farmers to return to fire affected properties as soon as possible to attend to missing and injured stock.
In the wake of the 2019-20 bushfires the VFF helped to facilitate the delivery of 16,540 bales of hay to bushfire affected farmers in East Gippsland and Upper Murray and 113 tons of pellets which fed 80,000 animals including cattle, horses, sheep and alpacas.
The VFF regularly consults with the Emergency Management sector and submitted to both the Royal Commission into Natural Disasters and the Inspector General Emergency Management views of ‘Black Summer’ with a direct focus on improving knowledge of farming systems to reduce impact of fire events on farming.
Following the devastating 2019-20 bushfires, the VFF is reviewing its bushfire policy with regard to preparedness, response and recovery.
Further Information
For further information and advice about the VFF’s bushfire prevention advocacy, VFF members can call the VFF Policy Team on 1300 882 833 or email [email protected].
Fire Preparedness Resources
There are steps you can take throughout the year, not just during the summer months, to help you plan for and manage bushfires. Our partners WFI have produced the following resources to help farmers better prepare for and prevent fires.
