CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change impact on the grain and farming industry has been a pretty big problem as the crops can be damage, stopping the production of most farming products, including grain. Temperature change can also contribute to the destruction of the food that we eat being produced.
Global warming has been one of the world’s biggest problems
and it continues to expand. Warmer temperatures can help crops grow, but it can
also reduce yields. Crops tend to grow faster in warmer conditions. However,
for some crops like grain, faster growth reduces the amount of time that seeds
have to grow and mature.
Solar panels reduce both global warming and urban heat
island. The production of solar energy in cities is clearly a way to diminish
our dependency to fossil fuels, and is a good way to mitigate global warming by
lowering the emission of greenhouse gases.
Cropping
Wheat is the predominant crop grown in NSW, with
~3.9 Mha of wheat for grain being planted in 2004, which was 55% of the total
area prepared for crop production.Climate change will bring mixed results for wheat: increased yields for most regions, but a decrease in quality. There have been only a few studies to date of the specific impacts of climate change on Australian wheat cropping systems.
The studies include an assessment of the conditional probability of not meeting the critical wheat yield threshold in South Australia, the effects of a changing climate on wheat cropping systems in northern NSW, the impact on grain protein levels of doubled CO2 in Qld, changes in wheat yields, grain quality, and gross economic margins at 10 sites across the Australian wheat belt, as well as the increased likelihood of heat shock and the projected boundary changes of Australia’s viable wheat cropping areas.
In analysing the impact of climate change on yields, it is also important to include a particular rate of improvement in variety adaptation. Breeding is a dynamic activity, and selections are going to be made as the climate changes are occurring. It is likely that some considerable compensation will occur, so that the selected varieties will be better adapted anywy
Sowing
Apart from using tactical sowing opportunities to
take advantage of prevailing soil moisture options, summer crops can be sown
early or late to avoid the stress of flowering and grain fill during peak
summer temperatures. The wide range in the maturation rate of maize varieties
allows growers to take advantage of early or late sowing opportunities under
dryland conditions. Quicker maturing varieties can:
- · take advantage of a full profile of soil water, minimising the risk of running out of water before the crop matures in low rainfall season
- beat the summer heat before tasselling, for spring plantings
- · avoid frost damage to late plantings.
Irrigated Crops
Though only ~1.5% of agricultural land is irrigated
in NSW annually, it accounts for an average of ~30% of the total agricultural
production value. Nationally, irrigated farm profit contributes over 50% of total
agricultural profit.
In NSW, the majority of irrigation is carried out
in irrigation schemes. These operate as companies, under licences issued by
the NSW Office of Water. The major crops are cotton and rice.
The main genetic limitation to rice-growing is the
cold sensitivity of the temperate varieties used in Australia. Deep watering is
used as a strategy to ameliorate cool temperatures at the sensitive times
around panicle initiation. Increased temperature under climate change will
mitigate cold sensitivity, so the need for deep watering should be dramatically
reduced. Hence, climate change may have some benefits for the irrigated rice
industry. It may also permit alternative rice species to be considered.
