Managing Climate Risk in Agriculture 2018, Beechworth

I was an invited speaker at the recent Managing Climate Risk in Agriculture conference in Beechworth, Victoria. The one-day event included a collection of speakers representing various sectors, mainly farming and allied professionals, as well as government, academia, finance, and community organisations. Over 200 growers and community members attended and were eager to build their awareness of climate risks, increase their business resilience, and improve energy efficiency on-farm.

A theme throughout the day was “doing more with less”- producing more food on less land for a growing population as well as working with drier and warmer conditions across southern portions of the country. Many speakers advising that a “business as usual” approach is insufficient for meeting the nation’s sustainability targets or for effectively mitigating the consequences from rising temperatures predicted in the recent IPCC report.

I spoke to research underway on the Digiscape Greenhouse Gas – Carbon project, and provided a demonstration of the user friendly prototype tool called LOOC-C (‘Look-see’), which stands for Landscape Options and Opportunities Carbon abatement Calculator. There was a strong sense that CSIRO has a role to play in helping producers maximise their efficiency by providing them with practical advice informed by the science. The calculator is a step in this direction.

The conference was organised by a partnership led by Farmers for Climate Action, with support from the Victorian Government, the North East Catchment Management Authority, local Landcare groups, and local government organisations.

More information about the day is here.

by Dr Cara Stitzlein