Adapting to climate change

This article is bought to you by Amarant Trucking Company and Lawless Lasers. 

By John Gladigau - Executive Director at Bulla Burra Operations Pty Ltd

These two photos were taken in the same paddock 37 years apart, with the same rainfall until 31st Oct in both years. The top photo was planted to barley in the flats and rye corn on the hills. The bottom photo is planted to lupins in between last years (droughted) barley stubble. While the lupins are still a poor rain starved crop, the ground is covered, erosion is minimised - and they will provide additional nitrogen and organic matter for next years crop. In analysing the extensive records our family has kept since 1956 on our Alawoona farm, this is a snapshot of the kg of wheat produced per mm of annual rainfall in that period.

1956-59: 1.62 kg/mm

1970-79: 2.15 kg/mm

1990-2000: 3.82 kg /mm

2009-2018: 4.52 kg/mm

Aside from the no till system, rotation, agronomy, weed control and management - a significant part of the change has been the harvesting of moisture by maintaining soil cover and summer weed control. The 50mm of rain which (inconveniently) fell during Nov / Dec last year is one of the major reasons we are harvesting anything this year. But rainfall is one thing, erosion and sustainable land management is another - which is why it is so important that we remain vigilant in the face of drought and support those who are doing it well.