IT'S been one step at a time for two farms after the 2003 fires. FIONA ALLAN reports

As bad as the devastation seems after bushfire, it is important not to give up hope, says fire survivor Vince Pendergast.

The 2003 alpine blaze wiped out three-quarters of his Benambra farm in Victoria, killing 200 head of cattle, with more requiring to be put down in the fire's aftermath.

He lost kilometres of fencing, a hay shed and a couple of historic cattleman's huts.

Vince said the recent Victorian fires evoked terrible memories.

"It brought back the memories, but we didn't lose any lives," Vince said.

The recovery process can be overwhelming but taking each day at a time and giving tasks a priority can make it easier.

"Don't give up because there is always hope," he said.

For Vince and his wife, Dianne, getting back on track has been a long, slow process.

"We didn't think of anything else bar getting back on with it," Vince said.

"We just had to."

He said the most difficult part was the loss of stock.

Many of the cattle that survived the fires later had major health problems.

"There was too much smoke and too much heat and they didn't milk, they didn't perform, so we had to keep culling," Vince said.

"A lot of the heifers had their teats burnt off so even if they had a calf they had no milk."

With so many herd-replacing heifers culled, stock numbers were well down and it took at least four years to rebuild the herd.

Replacing burnt fences has also been a long haul.

"The Government met us on some of the external fences and they paid a portion of that," Vince said.

"Some voluntary helpers also came up and they were great."

Such kind gestures by volunteers were a welcome morale boost, Vince said.

A longer-term problem is soil and pasture health.

"The pasture where the fire was very hot is just not responding," Vince said.

"I know we haven't had any rain but we are starting to wonder if the intense heat sterilised it a bit as there is very little growth.

"We might have to think about re-sowing," he said.

Beef and sheep producers Clive and Dianne Anderson have noticed similar problems on their Benambra property, of which three quarters was burnt.

The Andersons lost at least 120 cows, two shearing sheds, four sets of stock yards and kilometres of fencing.

But pastures have been the worst problem.

"We had sown down on the Mitta Mitta River just before the fires and it was fantastic but it is just sterilised now," Dianne said.

"Nothing has come back but it hasn't rained either so nothing will grow if it doesn't rain."

Clive and Dianne have sown fodder and cereal crops for extra stock feed and to try and improve the soil, but the lack of rain has hampered their efforts.

"I don't think we can blame it all on the fires, it is just the seasons," Dianne said.

Fencing was also a big issue for the Andersons, who had major problems after the fires with wild dogs attacking sheep.

"In one way I don't think you ever fully recover," Dianne said.

"It still gets to you and it doesn't take much to get upset.

"But really we have nothing to whinge about because it was only material things and there were no lives lost."