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| Mark Horan is a mixed livestock farmer in Braidwood, New South Wales. (ABC News: Mengyang Zhang) |
A new climate change report has made some dire
forecasts for the survival of threatened species and the future of
farming in central and southern New South Wales.
The Hot, Dry and Deadly report by
the state's peak environmental organisation, the Nature Conservation
Council, is based on peer-reviewed scientific data on the impact of
global warming.It predicts that by 2090 the Southern Tablelands will face temperature increases of nearly four degrees, combined with an almost 50 per cent reduction in annual rainfall.
Some farmers have disagreed with the gloomy prognosis for the impacts upon primary production, citing the success of ongoing innovation
But for mixed livestock farmer Mark Horan, managing a changing climate is business as usual.
Over the past 30 years he has observed a swing from winter to summer dominant rainfall on his farm Bedervale, which is located on the outskirts of Braidwood.
"June has has been very dry, we haven't had good rain for seven to eight weeks," Mr Horan said."Where we would normally expect reasonably good winter rain, that's been lacking for a number of years."
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| Mark Horan says seasonal changes forced him to purchase another property. (ABC News: Mengyang Zhang) |
"So when things are a bit tight here at the end of the winter, there should be five or six weeks growth over at the other farm."
But he is having to feed hay to his remaining herd of 400 cattle at the Braidwood property.
'Issue for being able to grow food', report suggests
It is farms like Mr Horan's in the Southern and Central Tablelands of New South Wales that could be among the worst affected by climate change, according to the council's report.
"Wheat production is expected to decline by about 11 per cent and sheep meat production by about 13 per cent and beef production by about 3 per cent," Nature Conservation Council campaign director Daisy Barham said.
"So this isn't just an issue for people who care about nature, it's an issue for being able to grow the food that we urgently need as well," she said.
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| Daisy Barham is the Nature Conservation Council's campaign director. (ABC News: Adrienne Francis) |
"Many scientists predict that we will lose the koala from many parts of NSW in the next 30 years if we don't act on climate change and the many other threats that they are facing," Ms Barham said.The council said the ACT was leading the way on renewable energy and it is calling on the New South Wales Government and other community leaders to boost investment in renewable energy.
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| Mr Horan says too many environmental restraints and regulations could have a detrimental impact on people in the agricultural industry. (ABC News: Mengyang Zhang) |
Mr Horan said he believes the State Government is close to getting the right balance between renewable energy and coal-fired electricity generation.
"We have only now just got to the point where we don't have eight-hour blackouts and I don't think anyone in the country wants to go back to that," he said.
"I can see that there should be concern but from my view, management on my farm means that we can mitigate a lot of that risk."
But there is agreement over the need for continued investment in climate research.
"What could make everybody in farming make better decisions is accurate weather forecasting," Mr Horan said.
Links
- Nature Conservation Council of NSW
- Hot Dry, and Deadly: Impacts of Climate Change on Nature in NSW
- Our climate concerns | Western Advocate
- Hot, dry and deadly ahead | Goulburn Post
- Climate of concern: report warns of impact of hotter, drier conditions
- Climate report highlights risks to Bathurst wildlife
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