This time last year we were entering a record-breaking dry season, on the back of a drier than usual winter.
As temperatures start to warm again, we’re helping farmers adapt their operations to lowered rainfall patterns.
‘Preparing for Drought’ is on Wednesday, 23 October, 9am to 1pm.
Registration from 8:30am with morning tea.
Lunch provided at 12.00pm.
Registration is free via the below link.
Join South West NRM in our capacity as the Drought Hub’s Bunbury Region Node Lead at Rylington Park in Boyup Brook for 4 expert speakers.
- Drought & desalination case study by Senior Principal Research Scientist Richard George;
- Natural Capital + Agriculture by Thomas Picton-Warlow from the Natural Capital Production Landscapes Project team;
- Building drought resilience on farm by Michael Wright – Rhodes Pastoral Farm Manager;
- Confinement Feeding and Deferred Grazing by Facey Group;
- Drought resilience by Dr Mary Hanson, Edith Cowan University with input from Professor Kerry Brown.
Included is a thought-provoking presentation + Q&A with UWA researchers on emerging opportunities for farmers associated with Natural Capital Investment to build drought resilience, reduce variability in their business and create diversified revenue streams and equity.
Curious? You see, nature is emerging as the next global financial asset class.
Just like any other product you produce on the farm, for this new nature market, there are key factors at play:
- Supply;
- The relationship between price and quality; and
- Regulatory considerations.
And just like any other product, turning a profit means understanding your market so that you can position yourself well.
Researchers have been talking with large investment houses across Australia and internationally to find out what interest they have in investing in WA farmers and what market systems they think are necessary to facilitate this investment at scale. What does ‘good’ look like for the investors?
Now the research team wants to share that information with farmers. Plus, they’re interested to hear what farmers see as their needs through this transformational change of the agribusiness sector. What does ‘good’ look like to you?
This puts farmers in the driving seat of a key generational opportunity for the Australian economy that will ideally translate to healthier farms and farm businesses to hand onto the next generation.
This research will inform decision-making by Government and industry on the market structures, policy and regulation, and investment in nature-based solutions.
This UWA led project is funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and was initiated through the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.
