Nuffield scholar Ellen Litchfield says farmers have to adapt to climate change
Before returning to her family’s South Australia property, this farmer worked in London and witnessed beef losing its ‘cool’ factor”. So she decided to act.
GROWING up on the edge of the Simpson Desert is far north South Australia Ellen Litchfield says she was used to the prospect of drought.
“We live in one of the driest places in Australia, renowned for its boom and bust cycles, homestead ruins and graves from pioneers that arrived in a good season and couldn’t leave in a drought are scattered our properties,” Ellen said of the family’s Wilpoorinna Station near Marree, in 135mm rainfall country about 700km north of Adelaide.
“My family has been successfully farming here for over 50 years, but climate change poses a new threat to this way of life, not just because of the risk of this area getting even drier but also our social licence to run cattle and sheep. Ruminant production systems are under increasing public pressure to be more sustainable and efficient with beef now being viewed by many as not part of a sustainable diet.”
Ellen, who has a masters in sustainable agriculture, spent 12 months working as a veterinarian in London before moving back to the family property and said she witnessed “the huge surge in vegan restaurants and beef losing its ‘cool’ factor”. It’s with this in mind she undertook a Nuffield Scholarship on the impact of climate change on red-meat production and profitability in arid and semi-arid rangelands.
“I wanted to share a different story of beef production than the one shown through social media, depicting a system that looks solely at input versus output and data largely based on feedlots,” Ellen said. “I wanted to understand the role that ruminants play in climate change and how we can ensure that our production systems are decreasing their emissions.”
Ellen’s studies took her to China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Germany, Ireland, the UK, Italy, Canada, the US, Kenya and South Africa.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
ELLEN said climate change would result in increased time in drought and posed a significant threat to the productivity of pastoralism in the arid and semi-arid rangelands.
She said rangeland production systems had historically had to be prepared for climate extremes and this would be an advantage “going into a future with greater extremes”.
“Ensuring good land condition through sustainable management practices will increase the resilience of pastoralism,” Ellen said. “Evolving and innovative business models will have greater resilience to climate change then static production systems. Climate change effects in the rangelands will not be restricted to environmental impacts.”
Ellen said changing consumer demands and policy responses to climate change would have an impact on rangeland-based livestock production systems, but pastoralists were poised to capitalise on the opportunities that arise from a more ecologically engaged society.
“Advocacy for the role of pastoralists as custodians of the land must continue and be further developed through engaging in recognised ecosystem services and industry support,” she said. “Farming is not just about food production and as the industry enters an era where consumer demand for healthy ecosystems grows, this will become even more evident.”
SCIENCE WORKS
IN MAKING her recommendations, Ellen said scientific evidence was growing that there will be increased periods of drought and pastoralists needed to recognise this and make plans to increase their businesses resilience.
“Pastoralists need to recognise this and make plans to increase their businesses resilience,” Ellen said.
She also more extensive industry research into GHG emissions and sequestration of extensive rangeland production systems was needed, consumer understanding of rangeland production systems needed to be increased and the positive impact livestock can have on ecosystems promoted.
“This is every producer’s responsibility and despite long distances from urban areas, these positive stories should be shared,” Ellen said.
Furthermore, collaboration with both other industries and production systems should be used to connect with the consumer, adding that it should not be a competition between feedlots versus pasture-based systems “but working together to build trust in the whole food system”.
Advocacy for the role pastoralists play as custodians of the land was imperative to establishing a monetary return for ecosystem services, she said.
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