Managing Climate Variability

News and Events 

Australian Farmers and Climate Change

A Parliamentary Briefing was held for Members of Parliament and advisers in March 2007. Hosted by the Honourable Sussan Ley MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the briefing addressed:

� Climate change and Australian agriculture - impacts & vulnerabilities.
� Managing the risk - challenges and opportunities.
� How leading farmers are using new approaches to manage for our variable and changing climate.

Slides from the presentations: Impacts and Adaptations (1047KB)Farmer's Perspective 2030 and 2070 (262KB)

2 New Fact Sheets - Impacts and Adaptations, and Farmers' Stories.

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MCV's Newsletter - CLIMAG

The program's newsletter, CLIMAG, keeps readers up-to-date on the latest research in climate, agriculture and natural resource management. In the latest CLIMAG newsletter:

» Why has 2006 been so dry?
» Feedbase options for dairy farmers
» Making hay while the sun shines - or not.

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Subscribe to Climag | Download PDF  | Order (free printed copy)

Past issues of CLIMAG are available from the left hand menu. 

Media Liaison


For prompt assistance with media enquiries, please contact us:

Program CoordinatorProject OfficerCommunication Officer

Colin Creighton
Tel:  0418 225 894
Email: colin.creighton@lwa.gov.au

Ben Bryant
Tel: 02 6263 6030
Email: ben.bryant@lwa.gov.au

Lynne Sealie
Tel: 02 6263 6021
Email: lynne.sealie@lwa.gov.au

 

Recent Media Releases and Stories

Farmers and scientists a decade ahead of climate change

Farmers and scientists are meeting with parliamentarians in Canberra, Wednesday 28 March, to discuss how agriculture is being affected by climate change and how farmers are successfully managing the risks.

The decisions for farming are getting tougher and more complex with climate change making our climate even more variable. Australia's research on seasonal forecasting and tools to translate these forecasts into options for planting, fertilising, grazing and irrigation scheduling are becoming even more valuable, according to Dr Michael Robinson, Executive Director of Land & Water Australia

"And farmers are leading the way," he says. "Much of the research to adapt to our variable climate is being done by producers, or in partnership with producers, on their properties."

MCV Media Release NSW 280307.pdf (54KB)

MCV Media Release QLD 280307.pdf (55KB)

MCV Media Release SA 280307.pdf (55KB)

MCV Media Release Vic 280307.pdf (55KB)

Making Hay While the Sun Shines - or Not

After the driest August and September on record in the Adrossan region, South Australia, it was clear that crop yields in the region for 2005 would be disappointing. Many of the growers in the region cut grain crops for hay.

"But there is a trade-off. Grain fetches a higher price per tonne than hay, so if we make the wrong choice we could lose out.' Bill Long said.

Man in wheat field

Yield Prophet®, a software program, predicted that Bill's wheat would still achieve significant grain yields. Given skyrocketing prices for wheat with the expanding national drought, Bill decided not to cut hay, saving $20,000.  More on Bill Long's story

Past Media Releases and Stories are available via the left hand menu on this page.

Events

The current phase of MCV runs until June 2007. Planning for a new phase of MCV is underway - see Future Directions. 

Past Events are available via the left hand menu.