After some sporadic wet weather hit the region last week and a record wet spring, it may be difficult to get into the mindset of preparing for a potential drought.
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But that is exactly what agricultural leaders and local governments are starting to do, especially with the Bureau of Meteorology calling an El Nino watch.
Ballarat is experiencing its fourth consecutive below average month of rainfall with only 26mm falling in March compared to an average of 42mm. Half of that rainfall fell on Friday.
But the total rainfall for the December to March period was only 94.8mm at the official BOM Ballarat aerodrome site, about half the long term average of 166.4mm.
ENSO data from the BOM indicate the impacts of the pacific temperatures which drive La Nina and El Nino systems have been moving closer to neutral.
The BOM is also predicting below median rainfall is likely, a 60 to 80 percent chance, for southern and eastern areas of Victoria for March to May 2023.
As a practicing farmer, Pyrenees Shire councillor Robert Vance said changes in the climate are just part of the lifecycle of his farm work.
But after returning from the Vic Hub Drought and Innovation summit in Bendigo late last week, it hit home that extreme climate events are becoming the new norm.
"They put graphs up to prove that since the 1950s, the actual rainfall that we received, on average over that period, has dropped 58%," he said.
As a sheep breeder he said over the last few decades he would notice periods where the water was short and he would go and buy a tank and set up troughs to keep up supply.
"That is an extra that you don't have to do in normal years, but it's something that you do to get you through the dry times," he said.
With a shire that relies heavily on the agricultural sector to bring in jobs and economic development, Pyrenees residents are impacted when climate change affects farmers.
This alongside a growing population and a need to implement renewables were also some of Cr Vance's key takeaways from the summit.
He said it is also important for the work to be shared rather than placed completely on the farmers.
"The people that are benefiting from what we're doing live in the city, so they've got to be prepared to make some sacrifices too," he said.
The Vic Hub is run by the University of Melbourne in partnership with La Trobe, Deakin and Federation Universities.
While they focus on drought research they also partner with agricultural groups and government to share knowledge about climate resilience.
Hub director professor Michael Taurz said it is no longer true that drought or extreme heat only happen during El Nino years.
He said the Black Saturday bushfires happened during a normal year and so it is more important than ever to proactive about droughts rather than reactive.
At the end of the session in Bendigo, attendees could sign up for a closed discussion where gaps in drought resilience were talked about.
Professor Taurz said notes from the session will be reported back and "then [they] take further steps to see what can be done to address [the] gaps".
This could include creating educational resources, creating a regional specific project or match problems with people who have solutions.