With access to better climate information and decision-making tools, primary producers can make more informed choices about the future of their businesses.
A collaborative project involving the Queensland Government, CSIRO, Bureau of Meteorology, the Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (TNQ Drought Hub), Rural Solutions Queensland, Farm Business Planning North Queensland and Growcom has explored how long-term climate information can be incorporated into farm business planning.
The project focused on My Climate View, an online tool that provides access to historical climate data, seasonal outlooks and future climate projections for locations across Australia.
The tool allows producers and advisors to explore how factors such as rainfall, temperature, drought and heatwaves may change over coming decades, and consider what those changes could mean for their businesses.
For the TNQ Drought Hub, the project provided an opportunity to help connect climate science and tools with the practical decisions producers are making on-farm. Karen George, Director of the TNQ Drought Hub said,
“Climate information is most useful when it can be translated into practical decisions. Giving producers and their advisors the tools and confidence to understand what the information means for their business is an important part of building long-term resilience.”
The research found that integrating climate information into Farm Business Resilience Plans can support better long-term decision-making and help producers consider how their businesses may need to adapt to changing conditions.
It also highlighted the important role of planning officers and advisors in helping producers understand and engage with future climate projections. Having someone who can help translate complex information into practical considerations can make climate data more useful in the planning process.
Importantly, planning should not be treated as a one-off exercise. Regularly reviewing and updating business plans allows producers to respond as conditions, risks and opportunities change.
For producers, this could mean considering how changing rainfall patterns may affect water availability, how increasing temperatures could influence livestock or crop production, or where new technologies and management practices could help reduce exposure to climate risks.
By bringing together climate science, practical planning tools and local knowledge, the project demonstrates how better information can support more informed decisions about the future of northern farm businesses.
Explore My Climate View or read the full study.
My Climate View, the TNQ Drought Hub and the Farm Business Resilience Program are supported by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund. The Farm Business Resilience Program is also jointly funded by the Queensland Government’s Drought and Climate Adaptation Program.