2 January 2022.
AgForce is encouraging members to make use of the Government’s Drought Resilience Self-Assessment Tool (DR.SAT) and the Climate Services for Agriculture (CSA) program.
The initiatives fall under the Future Drought Fund, and enable farmers to better prepare for future drought.
With the DR.SAT tool, producers can explore the current and past condition of their property through satellite imagery, and complete simple surveys to assess how they are tracking in terms of financial performance and personal wellbeing.
For dryland croppers and cattle graziers in four pilot regions, the tool also helps farmers understand how their land and its productive capacity might be impacted by the climate into the future. A tailored set of practical options and resources to manage these impacts are then generated for consideration.
The CSA prototype has been updated and delivers historical and future-looking climate information, and seasonal forecasts, enabling farmers to see how future climate could impact their region and the commodities they produce.
In addition to wheat and beef, it now also includes climate indices for sheep, almonds, apples, barley, canola, and lupins.
Future updates will provide farmers with different adaptation options so they can consider ways to improve their climate resilience.