New research from Charles Darwin University shows that Australian farmers are becoming climate change innovators by making significant strategic decisions, such as planting crops at different times, to better position their businesses and accommodate climate change uncertainty.
The impacts of extreme climate events including heat waves, drought and flooding rainfall are causing significant social, economic, and ecological disruptions to global systems of farming and food production.
According to the research conducted by CDU PhD student David McKenzie, farmers are doing amazing things in how they think, manage and act in relation to business viability, infrastructure-technology and farm operations-practices to combat the stressors of extreme climatic conditions.
Mr McKenzie said Australian farmers need to be prepared to adapt to the current challenges of climate change. ‘The uncertainty of climate change is a significant challenge which is prompting Australian famers to think differently to ensure business success, particularly in extreme environments,’ he said.
‘Unless farmers are ready to build resilience and adaptively manage the risks associated with climate change, the viability of farming in certain locations may not be sustained.’
As part of his research, Mr McKenzie spoke with 22 farmers across eastern Australia who represent a variety of industries, including livestock and cropping, to learn how they had adaptively responded to limit the impacts of climate change on their farming business.
‘These farmers are at the cutting edge of responding to current challenges and preparing for future challenges through innovative transformations,’ said Mr McKenzie.
‘The transformations arise from game changing events of mini crises such as heatwaves and droughts, because things aren’t working well or from the social influence of group participation and farm advisors.’
Adapt or die
The farmers in the study identified emerging shifts in rainfall and temperature patterns of climate variability patterns and extreme and unprecedented climate events which forced them to adapt their growing models.
‘Farmers saw massive rainfalls that would last for one month then they wouldn’t see rain for four to five months at a time, so they needed to change the way they grazed in order to harvest the rainfall,’ said Mr McKenzie.
‘The farmers adapted their processes to better accommodate growing crops in the non-growing season rainfall episodes and intense hot dry season rainfall events outside the usual growing period.’
The researcher said they also expressed concern about the intensity and increasing regularity of fires, heatwaves, and flooding, with these all impacting the viability of farming.
‘To counteract these continued environmental risks, the farmers strategically looked at a range of solutions including altering the scale of their farm, being flexible with crop and/or animal substitution and even relocating,’ Mr McKenzie said.
Financial strategies
The farmers also expressed the importance of making sure they have financial reserves to buffer against the variability in the changing climate.
‘The farmers I interviewed had a range of different strategies and forms of financial reserves to support them during the times when the climate is challenging,’ Mr McKenzie said.
‘For example, one farmer sells stock to provide equity, another has money invested with a financial advisor in a farm management deposit, while others reinvest profits back into the farm. Overall, what is clear from this research is that farm businesses need to be innovative, strategically positioned and managed to keep in step with the adaptive demands of evolving climate change.’
The complete research findings are available here.
So, ‘These farmers are at the cutting edge of responding to current challenges and preparing for future challenges through innovative transformations,’ so they can continue in their role of being the main drivers of this climate catastrophe.
Massive land clearing = environmental extinction, followed by ever-increasing poison and chemical ( fossil fuel ) fertiliser all powered by insane levels of fossil fuels for mechanised factory farming. All of these standard methods are affecting the total environment of this continent and destroying marine environments and the whole inland river systems.
Why aren’t they prosecuted for causing this vandalism, solely committed in order to line their pockets to the detriment of life on Earth and certainly not commended for their efforts to cope with the fallout of their greed ?
Cheers, G”)
Because people like to eat, and they are importing 500,000 more mouths to feed each year, and those mouths are used to getting physical to survive. Meanwhile, farmers are struggling to make ends meet, and record numbers have gone bankrupt since 2010. China is buying up all the farm land, and as I’m informed by leftist that have never lived in a Chinese country, they are totally the most environmentally friendly people on the planet and stuff. So stress less, Ken. Go watch the youtube channel ‘serpentza’, and you’ll feel better about our farmers.
Ken, you are so delusional. No one but the farmers know one single thing about farming but the farmers. All of you lefty green woke idiots butt out, you are not smart, you know nothing but the art of protesting, you are idiots.
Oh sure, this is the farmers with their hands out every time the weather changes! It’s a drought, gimme some money! It’s a flood, gimme some money!
Actually, the government gives me money for those things, just for being registered. Makes no sense, nobody asks most of the time, they just give a nominal amount, and advertise the crap out of it. When people out here actually need help, due to something out of our control…..crickets. “Helping” “Farmers” when the BOM says there is a “Drought”, is politically sexy to coastal people. But none of this has anything to do with realities on the ground.
Where does your food come from Ken?
Robyn, we all know where our food comes from – Woolies, Coles, Aldi.
Didn’t your mother tell you not to complain about farmers with your mouth full?
Europe is rising up against this green madness…
Farmers in Germany & Holland and France
Won’t let up …the UN the Who and the world
Economic forum all run by dictators ..
The push back has only just begun…
Too true Barrow, you are onto it, such a shame our green lefty non friends don’t have the mentality to see what is happening….
Too true Barrow, you are onto it, such a shame our green lefty non friends don’t have the mentality to see what is happening.
Greg protesting Against their own prosperity
Has consequences.. ! How many Greens
Live off grid ? Very few i should imagine
Labor & the Greens are just one big happy
Family..
Labor is nothing without the greens, what a pathetic sideshow Australian politics had become, God help us please.
Liberal is nothing without the Nationals and we saw how that all unfolded under the Abbott ,Turnbull, Morrison led HORRORshow.
Joachim, guru of everything political and knower of all, you no nothing at all of what you talk about, the country was in much better shape under the previous governments than now.
Joachy, guru of everything political and knower of all, the coalition is exactly just that, a coalition, in lock step. The labor and greens pretend they aren’t a coalition, however when elections come around they are joined at the hip. Do they really think the good people of this nation are so stupid?, only the one’s that expected a yes vote. .