The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a global circulation system that can bring big rains to northern Australia during the wet season, but it doesn’t always deliver. Essentially, it is a very large-scale wave in the atmosphere that can bring a ‘pulse’ of cloud and rain. It travels from west to east circling the globe near […]
Read more >

When a season fails, the decision to maintain livestock or to sell can have a big impact on cash flow, but when one ‘tough’ season turns to two or more, the consequences can become far reaching. This is one of the most significant challenges identified by industry reference groups from the Southern Red Meat and […]
Read more >

The physical risks of a warming climate − such as drought, heatwaves, flood, fire and storms − are very much front of mind for agriculture. But, in recent years, there has been a shift in the business world that means agricultural businesses now need to consider their climate-related financial and liability risks. The increasing frequency […]
Read more >

Adaptability is essential for any successful agricultural business, but the dairy industry has been through a particularly challenging period dealing with everything from drought and changing water availability, the supermarket milk-price wars and a shifting public attitude to animal production. Gippsland dairy farmers, Pete Neaves and Kate Mirams along with their three teenage boys, are […]
Read more >

In recent years, many regions in Southern Australia that traditionally rely on winter rainfall have experienced a decline in wet-season totals. Heatwaves have also become more frequent, and not just in summer. While big picture climate drivers, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, play an important role in individual seasons, a persistent trend in […]
Read more >