Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud says a new series of weather guides will soon give Aussie farmers “easy access to crucial climate and weather information”.
The climate-outlook guides are the fruit of a joint project between the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO.
They’re developing them for 56 Natural Resource Management regions using $2.7 million from the coalition government’s Drought Assistance Package.
The first guides will be for Condamine (Queensland), Mallee (Victoria), West Gippsland (Victoria) and Riverina (NSW).
‘Wealth of information’
Minister Littleproud said: “The bureau has a wealth of information farmers need and this will put it in their hands.
“Reliable climate information helps farmers make the best decisions they can to manage risks. It will help them better understand temperature and rainfall ranges, frost risk, the onset and length of wet seasons, water-storage levels, and the likelihood and severity of drought, natural disasters and cold snaps.
“Today, Condamine farmers have a chance to tell the bureau what information is most valuable to them and how to best deliver it.
“This will mean farmers won’t have to rely on guesswork to make decisions that affect their livelihoods. This is particularly important during a drought like the one we’re currently going through.
“The bureau will start off trialling the service online and taking feedback from farmers to ensure it hits the mark. We expect the service to be up and running early next year.
“These guides are part of the government’s ongoing and long-term drought response. Our drought support covers a range of areas. These include immediate financial assistance, and building resilience and preparedness in rural and regional communities.”
For more information about the climate guides, email agriculture@bom.gov.au