After the 2014-15 dry period, the Leeming family gross farm income increased by 30 per cent with a substantial decrease in costs.

Custodian Tim Leeming said good water supplies provided opportunities.

“If water resources and infrastructure are inadequate during dry times, graziers are forced to de-stock or reduce carrying capacity,” he said.

“This invariably erodes the capacity for the business to earn money once the season turns around.

“We stuck to our guns – we had water, protected pastures and increased our capacity to earn.

“Eighty per cent of your profits tend to come in 20 per cent of years.”

Mr Leeming did the sums on establishing a dam system compared with a reticulated piped system for water for the properties they own.

He found reticulation cost $81 a hectare and a dam cost $194 hectare, with the piped system fed by storages as big as four megalitres.

Mr Leeming said his top tips for water planning including doing an audit on the worst-case scenario.

He said farm water budgeting was critical.

“A key dam is critical – speak to authorities early if you want to increase your dam capacity,” he said.