Adaptations of livestock producers to predicted climate change

Agricultural producers, through education, are becoming more aware that implementing adaptation strategies to prepare for future climate variability will assist their businesses to remain viable and profitable into the future.

Education is available on how the weather works, weather phenomena such as El Niño and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), and climate change itself - its risks, the size of the risk and how to best manage risks.

Primary producers can understand more about their local weather systems by participating in climate forums where the scientific basics are explained, for example where the moisture comes from, what triggers moisture to form in areas of NSW, where the wind comes from and what else it brings, and how frost and hail develop.

Example rainfall map of NSW, April 2009
Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology www.bom.gov.au

Wind roses show the frequency of occurrence of wind speed, and wind direction.
Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology www.bom.gov.au

Farm infrastructure and new technologies

Increasing average temperatures over consecutive years makes the threat of heat stress for livestock very real, and producers are beginning to investigate the cost of investing in physical structures to provide shade or sprinkler systems to keep the herd's core body temperatures down.

These large extraction fans pull air through evaporative cooling pads, introducing moist cool air to the shed while removing hot air.

In the poultry industry, farmers have been investing in new cooling technologies for the large sheds which house the chickens. The temperature of conventional ventilated sheds could be modified by:

• raising or lowering side wall curtains;
• using ceiling fans and water systems to stir and moisten the air within the sheds;
• new tunnel ventilation systems which use extraction fans at one end of the shed and cooling cells at the other. The fans pull air through evaporative cooling pads, introducing moist cool air to the shed and removing hot air. This reduces heat in the birds via a windchill effect and the hot, gaseous air is removed.

Capturing methane

The intensive livestock industry is also being encouraged to invest and develop strategies to capture methane for commercial sale for electricity production. The Federal Government Research and Development Plan was written in order to direct areas of research and development that have the greatest potential value for the enhanced uptake of technologies for methane capture and use in Australias livestock industries.

For most intensive livestock businesses, this methane capture technology is not currently cost-effective, and government assistance is required to make this transition.

Livestock research

Research is being conducted in a number of areas to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and to assist producers adapt to predicted climate changes.

See Managing methane emissions and the following news stories: