Building Knowledge and Skills to Use Seasonal Climate Forecasts in Property Management Planning

Few in Australian agriculture had heard of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon and its impact upon Australian climate or agriculture before 1990. Today, few Australian farmers, agri-business people or scientists are not aware of its impact. This change was partly stimulated by revisions to the National Drought Policy in 1990, which introduced a major change in the role of government services. Emphasis was shifted from providing subsidies to providing information so that farmers could be more self-sufficient in managing the climatic risks they faced. Training initiatives for farmers and land managers were initiated through the National Property Management Planning Program. This paper outlines the property management planning process, details how information on seasonal climate forecasting was made available so that the necessary knowledge and skills to use it effectively in farm management could be developed, and discusses what has been learnt in the process and the major issues for the immediate future. The Property Management Planning (PMP) process embraces all aspects of property management and is a strategic planning approach to property management. PMP has an emphasis on participative problem solving and includes: reviewing and developing personal goals, natural resource assessment and physical planning, sustainable agricultural production, ecological considerations, business and financial management, marketing, drought preparedness and risk management. The PMP process provides the context for developing seasonal climate knowledge and skills within a strategic planning and farm decision-making framework. Climate and seasonal forecasting information has been made available in a diverse range of forms ranging from print and electronic media to structured workshops. The communication and training processes instigated were very successful at building knowledge and understanding of seasonal climate forecasting. However, this is a necessary but not sufficient condition for its effective application in farm management. Effective application of forecasts involves their use to improve decisions. Feedback from surveys indicates that many primary producers now understand the process of ENSO and believe that seasonal climate outlook information can be used profitably in their business. Many are now considering this information in their decision-making processes. The challenge for the future is to develop training tools/processes that enable analysis of decision options in conjunction with seasonal forecast information and other factors, so that management skill in using forecasts effectively can be enhanced. The lessons we have learnt throughout this process and the insights gained into adult learning are discussed and appear to conform with experiences of others

Patterns of release of the secondary conidia of Claviceps africana, the sorghum ergot pathogen in Australia

Trials were conducted in southern Queensland, Australia between March and May 2003, 2004 and 2005 to study patterns of hourly and daily release of the secondary conidia of Claviceps africana and their relationships with weather parameters. Conidia were trapped for at least one hour on most (> 90%) days in 2003 and 2004, but only on 55% of days in 2005. Both the highest daily concentration of conidia, and the highest number of hours per day when conidia were trapped, were recorded 1-3 days after rainfall events. Although the pattern of conidial release was different every day, the highest hourly conidial concentrations occurred between 10.00 hours and 17.00 hours on 73% of all days in the three trials. Hours when conidia were trapped were characterized by higher median values of temperature, windspeed and vapour pressure deficit, lower relative humidity, and leaf wetness values of 0%, than hours when no conidia were recorded. The results indicate that fungicides need to be applied to the highly ergot-susceptible male sterile (A-) lines of sorghum in hybrid seed production blocks and breeders' nurseries as soon as possible after rainfall events to minimize ergot severity

Managing Climatic Variability in Queensland’s Grazing Lands — New Approaches

The grazing industries based on beef cattle and sheep are the major land use by area in Queensland, occupying greater than 80% of the State and contributing over 30% of total value of agricultural products in terms of meat, live animals and wool. Animals feed mostly on native and sown perennial grass pastures growing across a range of climates, soils and vegetation types. At both a location and regional scale, year-to-year variability in rainfall and other climatic variables is high, with the El Nino/Southern Oscillation phenomenon as a major cause. Preliminary studies on the use of seasonal climate forecasting indicate potential for better management decisions such as — (a) herd management by forecasting rates of reproduction and mortalities, and (b) pasture management by improved use of pasture burning, improved legume establishment and assessing risks of overgrazing. The management of stocking rate in Queensland’s variable climate is very important for the profitability and sustainability of grazing enterprises. Current approaches to achieve both goals include using — - ‘safe’ carrying capacity, which is based on low levels of utilisation of pasture growth on average - flexible grazing management, which involves changing animal numbers each year at the end of the growing season - tactical grazing management, which involves rapid rotation of stock through a large number of paddocks as in ‘time controlled grazing’, and - ‘tactical rest’, which involves rules for seasonal changes in stocking rate based on condition of perennial grasses. Current research and experience with these approaches is described and the possible role of seasonal climate forecasting discussed