Broadacre Grazing

Abstract

The main projected challenges for the grazing industry under climate change are declines in pasture productivity, reduced forage quality, livestock heat stress, greater problems with some pests and weeds, more frequent droughts, more intense rainfall events, and greater risks of soil degradation. These challenges partly reflect the projected drying trend across the rangelands, which is uncertain, and, at least in some locations, climate conditions could become more favourable for pastoralism, presenting new opportunities. Uncertainties over which locations will fare better under climate change and which will be worst affected present a major challenge for adaptation at regional and property scales. Increased adoption of climate forecasting-based strategies for coping with climate variability will assist graziers to incrementally adjust management to "track" the early stages of climate change (but these strategies need to incorporate considerations of long-term climate change trends). The adaptation challenge and opportunity need to be clearly defined by quantifying the range of plausible impacts that uncertain climate change could have on the grazing industry and framing adaptation options in relation to existing management pressures. Likely responses of graziers and policy-makers to these impacts need to be determined and comprehensively evaluated. The most arid and least productive rangelands may be the most severely impacted by climate change, while the more productive eastern and northern grazing lands may provide some opportunities for slight increases in production. However, a rigorous analysis of the regional variation in impacts of projected climate change on grazing lands still needs to be conducted, allowing for both the heterogeneous nature of the grazing resources and expected regional variations in climate changes. Participatory research approaches that incorporate producer knowledge will assist in assessing vulnerability of the grazing industry to climate change, indentifying practical adaption options, and determining the limits of adaptations for coping with climate change. Show more