RESOURCE
As the UK moves through autumn after one of the driest and hottest summers on record, and Australia enters the hot summer months, there is a unique opportunity to bring together farmers from across the world and share experiences of adapting to a changing climate.
Climate change poses a significant risk to both Australian and UK food security, with potential impacts on crop yields, livestock production, and availability of food, all of which place significant pressure on farmers and farm businesses.
As prolonged droughts, heatwaves, flooding events, and bushfires all grow more frequent and intense, crop yields, livestock performance, and soil function are all at risk of declining.
But in both Australia and the UK, farmers are adapting.
More are exploring no-till farming, dry sowing, changing crop varieties (e.g. use of drought-resistant crops), and improving water management and soil conservation practices.
Alongside this, governments and value chains are adopting mitigative strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that increase climate instability and implementing policies and initiatives to support farmers.
Bringing together farmers and experts from across the world to share their knowledge, lessons, and experience is a crucial step towards building resilient farming systems that can support growers, consumers, and landscapes in the face of climate pressures.
In this webinar hosted by RegenWA and Sustainable Food Trust UK, you’ll hear from Western Australian farmer, Sarah Mason, and UK farmer, John Pawsey, who will offer insights into the lived experience of transitioning to regenerative practices. They will delve into the practical, financial, personal, and social factors at play in all their decision making, including:
• Motivations for transitioning
• Experience of transition phase
• Benefits and trade-offs
• Initial and long-term benefits
• Neighbours’ reactions and social barriers
• Future plans
• What would be done differently
Following Sarah and John’s presentations, participants will be lead in an open discussion to share their own perspectives, ask questions, and diver deeper into all things regenerative farming and adapting to climate change.
We hope you can join us in this cross-continental conversation about the shared yet diverse challenges facing our industry, the opportunities they present, and the many examples we can already look to of people seizing these opportunities and facing these challenges.
