Climate

Frank Batini. In summer 2011, following a very dry winter there was limited but noticeable tree crown scorch and some deaths of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) on sites with shallow soil. This event was repeated in summer 2024. On both of these occasions the forest growing on deeper soils was healthy. Academic and media comment immediately linked these deaths to human induced climate change ... ARR.News asked some further questions of Frank.

Come 2025, after a couple of wars, a new US president, a cost of living crisis, power blackouts and the hard economics finally catching up to lofty promises, the world seems to have quietly lost interest in the net zero game ... Just this week, the Red Meat Advisory Council formally dumped its 2030 carbon neutral target, swiftly followed by Meat & Livestock Australia.

A new ABARES report, Australia’s native forests and wood production, highlights the important role Australia’s diverse native forests play in helping to combat climate change, providing a home to many flora and fauna species, and providing high quality wood products.

Professor Matthew Harrison. While practices for reducing or removing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions abound, little information exists on the combination of practices required to reach net-zero emissions, the cost of transitioning to net-zero, or how carbon removals may change under hotter and more variable conditions expected with climate change. ARR.News asked a few further questions of Professor Harrison.

Western Australian grain growers are set to benefit from a series of targeted projects focused on time of sowing in response to increasing seasonal variability. Delivered through the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) National Grower Network (NGN), the local projects are designed to support growers in making more informed sowing decisions...

A series of short films titled Adaptation Stories will be screened at Kyogle Cinema on Sunday, June 29 at Kyogle Cinemas ... The films highlight how people are adapting to climate change and includes farmers, First Nations leaders and young changemakers.

Climate change has such a large negative impact on Ukrainian agriculture that it affects the country's macroeconomic indicators ... Farmers from all regions of Ukraine have sown 5.5 million hectares of spring grain and leguminous crops ... However, this spring cannot be called ordinary.

In a year when the eastern states have either been drowning under floods or gasping through drought, and here in the west half the state has been left staring at a dry horizon, it seemed timely to stop watching the skies and start digging into the past ... What I aim to do is cut through the rising noise between the climate catastrophists shouting Armageddon and the hardened sceptics waving it all away, versus the climate fatalists like me—convinced that, whatever humans do, nature already has the final say—and put some facts on the table.

Something’s shifted. You can feel it in the air — and no, I’m not talking about carbon dioxide, the superfood of plants. I’m talking about the political climate, the social mood, the economic headwinds, and, most importantly, the dawning realisation across much of the Western world that Net Zero isn’t the pathway to the promised land — it’s a mirage.

The Australian beef industry can play a positive role in the climate solution provided policy settings recognise the science of the biogenic carbon cycle, according to a leading international air quality specialist. Professor Frank Mitloehner, of UC Davis in the US, told [Cattle Australia forum] ... that while livestock do have an impact on our climate, the contribution of animal agriculture is often exaggerated at the expense of farmers and viable solutions.

Around the state, Mr Schinckel said the amount of money spent by producers nowadays would be something in the order of $10-$15 million per week per 1000 producers. “So, $50m that the SA government is offering is not going to go far—it’s a drop in the ocean.” ... He believed that the state and federal governments did not know or understand livestock production.

Most farmers are unlikely to face onerous requirements – particularly in the short-term – as a result of mandatory climate-related reporting recently introduced for large Australian companies, according to new research by agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank.

New mildew-resistant and drought-resilient grapevines have been planted in South Australia’s Coonawarra wine region to help safeguard the future of Australia’s wine industry against a changing climate and disease threats.  

Andrew Morgan. For more than two decades, SFM has worked at the intersection of forestry, agriculture and investment ... In recent years, we’ve witnessed a structural shift in what drives value in plantation development — and it’s been driven by something invisible, yet incredibly powerful: a real, regulated and recognised price on carbon.

The 2025 Forest Carbon Summit commences today, April 10, and continues tomorrow, April 11, at the National Press Club in Canberra, spotlighting the pivotal role of forests and carbon management in Australia’s net-zero future.

Madison Eastmond. The South Australian Youth Forum (SAYF) All Voices Tour made its most-recent stop in the Riverland last weekend, with their local workshop hoping to further understand the shared passions, hopes, and struggles of regional youth ... the afternoon workshop hosting conversations on climate resilience, mental health resources, and the importance of agricultural wellbeing.

...Bendigo Bank Agribusiness’ Monthly Commodity Update finds that US tariffs should have less impact than initially expected, however dry conditions across key cropping regions still have grain producers on edge. Lamb markets are stable with wool a bright spot, while supply chain issues for fruit and vegetables have seen a lift in wholesale prices on the east coast...

Australian farmers are set to benefit from groundbreaking technologies that will enable cost effective methane measurement in livestock. Zero Net Emissions Agriculture Cooperative Research Centre (ZNE-Ag CRC) ... launched the first project in its research portfolio.

The budget delivered ... is like a single, small scoop of vanilla ice cream for the bush – predictable and lacking the flavour to truly satisfy regional Australia, industry body GrainGrowers said ... it had missed the opportunity to deliver on a range of regional investment opportunities that would strengthen grain-growing regions and bridge the gap between urban centres and the bush.

As flood relief efforts in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Alfred remain ongoing, volunteer surf lifesavers and lifeguards are imploring the public to take safety seriously, with the use of rescue water craft likely to be significantly hampered ahead of the weekend.