Project Summary
As part of a trans-disciplinary team involving bio-physical scientists, economists, farmers and service providers, this project will explore the strengths and vulnerabilities of dairy farming systems under climate scenarios including social, economic and environmental considerations. Results from this project will be used to support farm business management decisions associated with medium-long term decision-making frameworks.
The Dairy Businesses for Future Climates (DBFC) research project aims to understand the factors that influence dairy farm development strategies at the local and industry sector scales. Firstly, integrated modelling of the biophysical and economic aspects of dairy farm production systems in southern Australia will be performed under selected future climate scenarios. This will deliver a set of well-characterised options for farm development in three case study dairy regions: Tasmania; South Australia and Gippsland. In parallel to this integrated modelling component of the DBFC project, a social research component (which is the subject of this ethics application) will explore how dairy farmers have managed challenges such as climatic variability (e.g. extreme weather events, sequences of weather events) and other factors (e.g. landscape change, economic factors etc) in the past, and what dairy farmers perceive as the key climate change-related vulnerabilities and opportunities for their current dairy farm businesses into the future.
Research Group Leader/Key contact
Dr Margaret Ayre, A/Prof. Ruth Nettle and A/Prof. Ruth Beilin (social research) with C Phelps, G. Hayman, Dr R. Rawnsley, Dr B Cullen, H Quinn, D Armstrong, Dr M Harrison
Contact details
Dr Margaret Ayre; T: 03 9035 4711; E:mayre@unimelb.edu.au
Partnership details
Funding: Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries and Dairy Australia: Filling the Research Gap Round 2, 2013: “Dairy intensification and Climate Change Adaptation: impacts on profit, risk and people”.