Newsletter: Is this the driest season in 40 years?

Plus I got mugged by a flock of greedy gulls and Leongatha locals on where the best pub in Gippsland is.

Author

Jacob Wallace
October 15, 2025

⏱️ This midweek edition of our newsletter is a 6-minute read.

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

✍️ In this midweek edition of our newsletter, Neerim South dairy farmer Dave Johnson talks to me about the difficulty of turning a profit in what he believes is the driest season in 40 years, I asked Leongatha locals a contentious question about where the best pub in the region is and I put together a video explaining the severe coastal erosion threatening Phillip Island.

🍟 On the way back from working on a few stories on Phillip Island last week, I stopped at San Remo Fisherman’s Co-op to grab myself some fish and chips. The weather by the water was divine and the fish was scrumptious — but unfortunately the whole experience was soured by a pack of greedy gulls harassing me for a squid ring.

🐦 Take a look at the tragic event that unfolded below.

👀 The (bite sized) update

🐄 Yesterday I interview Neerim South farmer Dave Johnson about an Agriculture Victoria report that found Gippsland dairy farms had experienced a 57 percent drop in profits from the previous season.

The report found that “severe rainfall deficiencies” in Gippsland was a primary driver in decline in profitability.

❝

There's no reserves of soil moisture… If the season cuts out early, then that would put a lot of pressure on the profitability again this year. I don't think there's a massive amount of confidence in the industry at the moment.

Dave Johnson, Neerim South dairy farmer

🍻 During an afternoon in Leongatha I spoke to locals about a range of topics. One of the questions I asked them was which Gippsland pub they liked the most and why. Take a look at what they had to say below. Did we miss your favourite? Let me know by replying to this email!

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

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🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns, local interviews and videos!

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

Dairy farm profits in Gippsland have fallen by 57 percent, marking the region’s lowest return since the 2018/19 milk season, as a drer season and high costs forced farmers to pull back on spending and lean on savings.

What’s happening: A new report from Agriculture Victoria found Gippsland average dairy farm profit dropped to $1.09 per kilogram of milk solids, down from $2.53 the previous year.

  • Dairy farmers’ payments are based on the amount of milk solids (everything in milk minus the water) they produce. That price is set annually by the major milk companies.

The report found that “severe rainfall deficiencies” in Gippsland was a primary driver in decline in profitability.

What do farmers think? Neerim South dairy farmer Dave Johnson told the Monitor it’s probably the driest season he’s experienced in 40 years.

  • “The season last year wasn't very good,” said Johnson. “It cost us significantly more to buy in extra feed to make sure the cows were well fed and producing.”

Johnson said the season had been so dry his farm had “exhausted all of our feed reserves, which we thought we had reasonable levels of. That was probably the biggest impact on the profitability last financial year.”

Watch a video I made on this story below or read the whole story here.

🎥 WATCH: The Phillip Island suburb at risk of being washed away

Last week I visited the suburb of Silverleaves to speak with local resident Ken Hailey about the accelerating erosion threatening the livelihoods of a whole suburb. Read the full story here or take a look at the video below, where Ken takes us on a tour of the beach and explains just how much things have changed.

Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I hope you found some stories in this newsletter that both informed and entertained.

If you have anything you’d like to share with us, whether it be a scenic picture of Gippsland’s environment, some information on the history of your town or some local gossip that you think is newsworthy then you can send it through to us at [email protected] and who knows, it might end up in this newsletter next week.

I’ll be back in your inbox on Friday morning with more local yarns, Gippsland history, event guides and more, so stay tuned. (Hopefully I don’t get mugged by gulls again.) Have a great week!

Cheers,
Jacob