Climate Change and Greenhouse Issues
Australian sheep producers have always dealt with a variable climate and its associated droughts and floods. Climate change scenarios suggest this variability will increase.
In the sheep industry, climate change is likely to impact on:
- pasture and fodder crops
- water resources
- wool production and quality
- animal health and reproduction
- land stewardship
- competition from other agricultural activities
- national and international markets.
For example, farm inputs costs will rise on the back of the Australian Government Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), despite agriculture being excluded from the scheme until at least 2015. Major meat processors will find themselves needing to buy ‘pollution permits’ for each tonne of greenhouse gas they contribute to the atmosphere.
Increased heat stress associated with climate change could reduce the reproductive performance of sheep in areas where temperature and humidity increases.
Vegetable fault and dust contamination in wool could increase where pasture composition changes, particularly in regard to weed content and bare ground.
Respond to the challenge
As custodians of large tracts of Australia’s land mass, sheep producers have worked for generations to manage the impacts of climatic variation on our capacity to sustainably produce affordable food and fibre for the world.
The industry now faces not only the continued challenge of managing production of food and fibre, given the variability in climatic conditions, but the new challenges created by Government and the community’s desire to see reductions in carbon emissions.
These pages on Climate Change and Greenhouse Issues provide some of the science, knowledge and capacity to assist sheep producers to respond to these challenges.
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Read
The Potential Impact of Climate Change on Woolgrowing in 2029: a report commissioned by AWI that details the effects of climate change on the wool industry. Click on the following link and scroll down to find a downloadable PDF file (1.1 mb): http://www.wool.com/6786.htm
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Australian Beef and Sheepmeat Industries: a report commissioned by MLA on the possible implications for industry and government policy arising from issues in global climate change and the Greenhouse Effect.
Greenhouse and the Red Meat Processing Industry: a report commissioned by MLA that examines the implications of government legislation on greenhouse gas and its effect on the red meat processing industry.
Order copies of these MLA reports (free for MLA members) by:
Attend
Managing for climate workshops: Queensland DPI&F and the Bureau of Meteorology designed and deliver this workshop to help take some of the guesswork out of weather and assist in decision-making. For further information:
Farmer's guide to managing climate risk: a NSW DPI PROfarm course for sheep producers interested in understanding weather and climate and managing risk.
For further information:
View:
Climate Change Resource Centre: MLA has made it easy for sheep producers to access a range of resources on the impact of climate change on Australian livestock industries, tips on adapting to these impacts. Visit: www.mla.com.au/TopicHierarchy/InformationCentre/Environment/Climate+change+resource+centre.htm
Or order copies of MLA publications on Climate Change by:
Managing Climate Variability Research and Development Program: a partnership of rural research and development corporations has developed and made available a range of practical tools that help incorporate climate information into farm business decisions. Visit: www.managingclimate.gov.au/
Land Water & Wool Managing Climate Variability a range of tools to help woolgrowers in many regions make better livestock and pasture decisions in a variable climate. Visit: www.landwaterwool.gov.au/land-water-and-wool/climate-variability/about
Australian Farm Institute: the Australian Farm Institute is an independent organisation that conducts research into farm policy issues to benefit Australian agriculture. The Institute has released four publications on different aspects of emissions trading and its potential impact on agriculture. You can purchase these publications online by visiting: www.farminstitute.org.au.
The AFI, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, devloped the FarmGAS Calculator. Use FarmGAS on-line or download and print a hard copy to estimate your farm’s annual GHG emissions, both at the individual enterprise activity level and for your farm as a whole, and to examine the financial impacts that different greenhouse mitigation options may have on farm business profitability. Visit: FarmGAS to download a hard copy or use the on-line tool for free, once you have created your own login.
Impacts of Climate Change: the Federal Department of Climate Change summarises the impact and potential adaptation strategies for Australian agriculture. Visit: www.climatechange.gov.au/impacts/agriculture.html
State-based Climate Change web resources for agriculture: visit:
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