Climate Change
Dairy Australia's climate research aims to manage the risk associated with climate change. It is designed to help the industry better understand the complexities associated with climate change so enterprises can respond and adapt in a sustainable way.
In the case of greenhouse gas emissions, a better understanding of the issues associated with factory and farm greenhouse gas emissions, including the efficient use of energy, will uncover the opportunities and costs associated with carbon trading, which will in turn inform development of appropriate and effective policy.
Confidence to Grow is the program that Dairy Australia has put together to make sure the industry is well prepared for the coming challenges of climate change.
The overall aim of this project is to place the dairy industry at the forefront of firstly understanding the potential impacts and implications of climate change across the whole dairy value chain, and secondly, providing the information products and tools to assist individuals and organisations to plan confidently for their future in the dairy industry. Confidence to Grow will answer questions like:
- How well positioned are we to manage climate change?
- Are our systems resilient enough for what we might see in the future?
- What can we do to make sure the dairy industry is on the front foot to capture any emerging opportunities and to avoid any pitfalls?
- How will the Government’s targets to reduce greenhouse gas production affect the dairy industry?
- Are there key research questions we need to focus on to ensure the ongoing profitability and sustainability of the dairy industry?
Project Outline:
The project consists of 4 key areas of work
Information gathering: utilising existing industry 'stocktake data' and CSIRO climate change reports to ensure climate change action is firmly based on the best possible information about the industry and about the range of likely future climates.
Impact analysis: assessing the impact climate change predictions and policies on the various sectors of the industry from farm to international markets.
Possible opportunities: interpreting the stocktake data and the impact assessments to develop options and recommendations for industry/policy.
Knowledge products: converting all the available information from other areas of work into useful tools and products for individual farmers, for dairy regions, for processors, and for the industry as a whole.
Other major climate change research projects include:
- Reducing ruminant methane emissions: a $25 million joint RDC, Australian Government, state agency, CSIRO and research organisations initiative to identify technologies for producers to breed and/or manage ruminants to reduce methane emissions and maintain animal productivity. This program of work is being funded through the Australian Government, Australia’s Farming Future program.
- Development of a Dairy Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategies calculator and whole farm systems modelling of greenhouse gas abatement strategies. (Project reference, UT12945. This major investor in this project is the Australian Government through the National Climate Change Action Program.
- Positioning the Dairy Industry for resilience and growth: Increasing climate knowledge and understanding system dynamics (Project reference, CAF12944). This project is being funded jointly by DA and CSIRO.
- Scenario Planning and Foresighting- using scenario planning to explore the implications for a range of ‘plausible’ futures (Project reference, SDA 13004).
- Dairy Industry Climate Change Toolkit: a cross industry initiative to develop a single, authoritative and up to date kit of tools that provide access to the latest information regarding the interactions between all aspects of climate change (including policy) and the dairy industry.
- Managing Climate Variability: a joint Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) and Australian Government project to develop better seasonal forecasting skills for rainfall and catchment flow. See www.managingclimate.gov.au
Recently completed projects
- Regional climate change fact sheets and dairy industry climate change reports: Produced by Dairy Australia and CSIRO, these fact sheets are being used in workshops, forums and discussion groups to build farmer and service provider understanding about the possible impacts and opportunities associated with climate change (see publications on this website). These activities and outputs have been funded by the Australian Government and DA.
- Broadening the EMS delivery base: Service provider training around climate change and farming, covering possible adaptation strategies and opportunities (Project reference, AFFA 12763). The major investor in this project was the Australian Government through the Natural Heritage Trust program.
- Estimating greenhouse gas emissions from grazing dairy cows and using lipid supplements as a mitigation strategy (Project reference, DAN13144).
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