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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Optimising profitability and sustainability in a grazing business is challenging enough under the best of circumstances, but Australia’s variable climate adds another layer of complexity that can be difficult to manage. Both day-to-day decisions and long-term strategies need to be balanced with the agility to respond to changing conditions and the seasonal outlook. Such decision […]
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While the climate drivers El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole are fast becoming household names, the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is lesser-known, but can still have a substantial, short-term impacts on southern Australia’s climate. “From late October to late December 2019, a negative SAM contributed to the lack of rainfall over parts […]
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