David Littleproud
October 3, 2019
Bureau of Meteorology has released the first of its Regional Weather and Climate Guides designed to give farmers the best possible climate information available to help make sound business decisions.
Twenty guides have been prepared so far.
Although the Burnett-Mary region (which includes the South Burnett) is not among the first release, a guide for this area should be published before the end of the year.
The guides are available to download from the BOM website but will also be made available through the National Farmer’s Federation FarmHub and the Climate Kelpie websites.
The $2.7 million project to prepare the guides was part of the Federal Government’s Drought Assistance Package.
Minister for Drought David Littleproud said the guides would give farmers a clearer picture of what to expect in upcoming seasons
“This will give farmers the best possible guidance,” he said.
“The guides will make sure cockies know their climate risks and opportunities.
“This includes rainfall and temperature trends, frost risk, when to expect the wet season, and the nature of local droughts, floods and heatwaves.
“This will help with decisions such as when to plant crops, put fodder aside, lease land, build water storages or take out loans.
“We’ve worked with local farming groups so the data meets the needs of each region.”
The guides have been produced by the Bureau of Meteorology, FarmLink and CSIRO in consultation with rural businesses, communities and farmer groups.
