A MIXED livestock property owners meeting will be held at Woodside this evening as producers impacted by the Cudlee Creek fire begin planning for the next six months.
Livestock SA chief executive officer Andrew Curtis, who will present at the meeting, said planning for the next six months would be vital for recovery.
"We need to plan and to work out what feed requirements are going to be for the next six months because there isn't anything in the paddocks," he said.
Mr Curtis said buying in feed and putting stock on agistment were two options to get animals through, but long-term agistment was already getting "pretty tight".
"If you've got a cow you've got to expect that she's going to eat eight kilograms of dry matter a day for the next 180 days," he said
"So farmers have to think about what their feed and water needs are and what their sourcing options are.
"We'll also be discussing what the options are for potentially selling stock for different enterprises."
Mr Curtis said another factor producers had to consider during recovery was looking after their land.
"Having stock on burnt paddocks is not good for both the stock or the paddock," he said.
"We need to look after the topsoil so producers should look at confinement feeding options and options that will allow the topsoil to be maintained and cope with the autumn break when it comes."
Livestock SA has been a key figure in aiding farmers in the aftermath of recent bushfires, coordinating fodder depots at the Oakbank Racecourse and Cape Jervis.
Mr Curtis said more than 1000 tonnes had been received and moved through the Oakbank depot since December 23, saying the organisation and recipients had been overwhelmed by the support from both large and small producers, as well as the Oakbank Racing Club.
"We've had people turning up with trailer loads of hay and people turning up with road trains of hay," he said.
"We've had people driving and delivering hay and the generosity of the local community and state community has been fantastic.
"Recipients have been grateful and conscious of not taking too much - thinking about people worse off than themselves."
The Oakbank depot is expected to be open from 10:30am to 12pm each day, or by appointment, for another week.
The Cape Jervis depot is open by appointment and producers interested in receiving donated fodder are asked to bring a property identification code and a valid ID.
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