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Research

Dairy Specific

Dairy Australia and partners have been very active in supporting R&D into adaptation options and strategies the assist the dairy industry adapt to climate challenges. Some examples include:

MAADI (Mitigation and Adaptation in the Australian Dairy Industry) jointly funded by Dairy Australia, Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Department of Primary Industries Victoria, Universities of Melbourne and Tasmania. MAADI is being delivered in the 8 dairy regions as “Future Ready Dairy Systems” (link, though the content is not yet in the regional sections, but it will be).

The aim of the MAADI program is to ensure those within the dairy supply chain, their service providers and policy makers can confidently deal with the opportunities and uncertainties associated with the impacts of climate change, increased seasonal variability, and emissions reduction plans. The expected outcomes include: 

  1.  A national network of on-farm demonstration sites showing adaptation and mitigation strategies in action - These demonstration sites are selected and ‘managed’ by a Regional Reference Group in each of the 8 dairy regions.
  2. Information resources to assist understanding and implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies – to be disseminated widely through the national, State and local partners, including milk processors and landcare networks.
  3. Greenhouse gas emissions benchmarks and reporting processes for the dairy industry – using the dairy industry’s on-farm DGAS calculator (link to calculator)
  4. Validation of emerging adaptation and mitigation strategies and interactions with farming systems – testing the ‘next generation’ of technologies and strategies that are not proven sufficiently to be recommended to dairy farmers.

There is more information, and many of the information products available within this Climate Toolkit (link to the regional section)

- Confidence to Grow is a recently completed program of work established by Dairy Australia to rapidly build up industry knowledge about climate change and to bring a dairy industry focus to the debate. Module 9 (Scenario analysis and foresighting) developed a range of future scenarios and explored how the industry might adapt to them.

- The CSIRO flagship (Adaptive Primary Industries) has some dairy specific projects including

  • Positioning the Dairy Industry for resilience and growth: Increasing climate knowledge and understanding system dynamics
  • South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative: Implications for agriculture, the environment, public health and emergency services.
  • Murray Darling Sustainable Yields Project.

- Australia’s Farming Future Adaptation Research Program - this Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry initiated program is investing in projects which will assist farmers adapt to a changing climate whilst increasing productivity. Projects of relevance to dairy include:

- Climate change adaptation in the southern Australian livestock industries: This project is examining the impacts of climate change on the livestock industry in southern Australia, and strategies for adaptation on both the farm and industry scale. The focus is on the issues associated with livestock producers adapting to the challenges of climate change and understanding the options for adaptation via feedbase, animal and systems management.

- Reducing the impact of heat stress on animal performance and welfare in southern Australia dairy, beef and sheep industries: This project will develop information resources to help producers make effective and informed decisions about the management of heat stress in livestock. Research will focus on the dairy industry.

- The Department of Primary Industries Victoria has established the Victorian Climate Change Adaptation Program (VCCAP). The aim of this program is to build government and industry capability to make informed decisions that maximise the benefits and minimise the costs of climate change. Individual projects include the South West Climate Change Forum; Farming Systems Scenario Development; and Impact Modelling and Land Suitability Analysis.

- The Department of Primary Industries NSW has established the Adaptation risk assessment framework to provide a tool to assess the impact, vulnerability and potential adaptation options of the range of agricultural systems in NSW.

General

Research into the questions associated with how best to adapt agriculture to climate change has been actively pursued in Australia and remains a strong focus for industries and Government.

Research into the likely impacts of climate change on agriculture and the adaptation options is being coordinated through the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF). NCARFF is a partnership between the Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Griffith University, with a consortium of funding partners drawn from across the country. NCARFF is developing a Climate Change Adaptation Research Plan for Primary Industries that will provide the framework for future research activities across Australia.

In 2007 ABARE produced a report “Adapting to climate change - issues and challenges in the agriculture sector” which provides a comprehensive overview of the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture and the adaptation options.

CSIRO has established a major R&D program – the Adaptive Primary Industries flagship – with a focus on four key areas:

  1. quantifying the vulnerability of different agricultural industries and regions to climate change, assessing the likely limits to adaptation, and understanding and influencing the pathways to adoption
  2. developing new technologies and practices that will enable response to changed climate conditions and carbon dioxide levels and provide improved analysis and delivery approaches for better management of climate variability
  3. identifying when transformational change may be needed, what the options are and their consequences and how to support decision making processes to foster effective transformation
  4. assessing the potential risks to greenhouse gas mitigation projects (such as tree plantations) from the impacts of a changing climate as well as ensuring that adaptation actions do not increase the national emissions footprint.

For more details go to CSIRO website.