SCIENTISTS and grain farmers in South Australia are partnering to better prepare for the impacts of climate change.
The last decade had more than its share of drought years, and indications suggest that this will be typical of future weather patterns.
Dryland farmers across the low rainfall zone of South Australia have always dealt with runs of good seasons and poor seasons, however, the drought years of 2006 to 2009 proved extremely difficult for many farmers. Since 2009, in some regions the seasons have been more favourable.
Dr Peter Hayman, Principal Scientist, Climate Applications from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) says it will always be hard to say how much seasonal conditions are due to natural variability and how much is due to human induced climate change.
“What is more useful is to use the run of seasons to learn about what parts of the farming system are vulnerable, what parts need strengthening and what parts need changing,” says Dr Hayman.
“Science can provide the components of a farming system such as new varieties and information on tillage and sowing times, but farmers and advisers are the ones who put the pieces together.
“Long term climate projections for South Australia from CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology are for a warmer and drier future, but that does not mean that every year will be a drought. There will still be good seasons and poor seasons, but we would expect the ratio of good seasons to poor seasons to be reduced.”
Dr Hayman and his SARDI team are working on a project funded as part of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s ‘Australia’s Farming Future’ which sets out to prepare farmers for future climate change.
As part of this project two half day workshops have been held in the Upper North and four on Eyre Peninsula. Farmers at these workshops were given the latest information from climate science for their region but most of the discussion focussed on what could be learnt from recent poor seasons.
The lessons from recent seasons can be summarised under two broad headings; firstly, capturing as much water from the summer period as possible by controlling weeds, and secondly, using the stored water and rainfall over winter as efficiently as possible.
Strategies include reduced and zero tillage, sowing the crop early, using shorter season varieties and matching nutrient supply to crop demand. In addition to improving management within the paddock, farmers and advisers point to the structure of farm businesses as an equally important area of focus.
Dr Hayman said that this project highlighted the confidence that many farmers had in their ability to manage low rainfall and challenging soils, but also their concerns about rural communities in these areas and the future for young farmers.
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