Projects
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| DCAP 3 - 2022/23 to 2025/26 | |
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USQ 1: Northern Australia Climate Program (NACP) |
NACP RD&E objectives include: Research: Improving the basic science and operational skill of seasonal, sub-seasonal (multi-week) and multi-year climate forecasting systems relevant to the northern Australia red meat industry. Development: Developing for use by producers and policy-makers to make decisions on drought and climate variability. Extension: Integrate climate forecast information into Northern Australia grazing industry networks to improve producer and value chain resilience to drought and climate variability. DAF Funding: $3,400,000 |
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USQ 2: Creating alternate agriculture income streams to increase farm profitability and benefit the environment. |
Industry-led project directly engaging producers to assess the application and potential benefits and risks/trade-offs of emerging opportunities to access markets for increasing vegetative and soil carbon sequestration, and other environmental credit options. DAF Funding: $1,394,000 |
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USQ 3: Pasture modelling improvements for tree/grass woodlands. |
This project aims to fill gaps in our knowledge of competition for water between trees and grasses and to enable graziers to better manage areas with woody vegetation while adapting to Queensland’s drought-prone and highly variable climate. DAF Funding: $413,000 |
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ANU 1: Multi-model ensemble consensus seasonal climate forecasting in Queensland. |
This project builds on the earlier DCAP Innovation Fund Project which tested the Bayesian model averaging method for development of a seasonal climate forecast product in two targeted test regions in Queensland. DAF Funding: $552,000 |
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DAF 1: Critical Temperature Threshold information for selected vegetable crops. |
Key project objectives include:
DAF Funding: $302,000 (NB: Two year project ending 30/6/2024 - Final Report Approved) |
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DESI 1: Innovative science to support climate smart grazing land management. |
The project aims to develop, deliver and evaluate the uptake of new and improved seasonal forage budget products and information, to assist the grazing industry to manage risks associated with Queensland’s variable and drought-prone climate. DAF Funding: $2,526,000 |
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DESI 2: Increasing farm management planning: Social research and targeted knowledge support. |
Social Research: The social research component of the project will identify those factors (benefits/disadvantages, motivations/barriers) influencing the adoption of written farm management plans, in Queensland primary production industries. Behavioural and Social Science Knowledge Support: The Behavioural and Social Science (B&SS) knowledge support component of the project will provide insights (findings, concepts, methods, behaviour change strategies), relevant to the objectives of other DCAP grazing industry related projects. DAF Funding: $598,000 |
Researchers from the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) will help support Queensland graziers to manage drought and climate decision-making more effectively by developing tools including:
- improving the Long Paddock website to support pastoral managers with a range of innovative tools, webinars, videos and information.
- on-line land management tools and training for extension officers, educators and consultants, including safe-carrying capacity and property forage budgeting
- a grazing systems modelling framework incorporating field data, remote sensing and models to support subsequent generations of scientists and landholders
- improved knowledge of sequences of wet and dry years in Queensland that impact longer-term strategic decision-making
Information products and tools will be improved to support decision making in the grazing industry through a better understanding of the barriers to managing climate risk and drought preparation.
Social scientists from the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) will engage with Queensland graziers, extension officers and scientists to identify barriers to drought preparedness.
The Northern Australia Climate Program (NACP), a partnership between the Queensland Government, Meat and Livestock Australia Donor Company and the University of Southern Queensland, is helping the grazing industry better manage drought and climate risks through:
- improved reliability of multi-week seasonal and multi-year forecasts for Northern Australia
- establishment of a network of ‘climate mates’ across the pastoral regions of Northern Australia to support delivery of climate information into regional extension and social networks
- production of new products and information and integration into business management decision-making.
DAF staff are providing information to support improved profitability and resilience of Queensland’s grazing businesses. Economic analyses are being conducted for a number of regions across Queensland and a range of management strategies and technologies are being assessed that are aimed at making grazing businesses more profitable and drought resilient. In addition, this project is examining options in the drought response and recovery phases.
The DAF GrazingFutures team is working with industry partners to deliver production, business and climate information to build resilience and grow grazing businesses across Western Queensland.
Palaeoclimate research will:
- Reconstruct a 1000 year rainfall history for key locations in SEQ, based on palaeoclimate data.
- provide a long-term drought risk assessment
- Reassess the probability of multi-year drought in the light of insights emerging from the palaeoclimate information.
