El Niño | El Niño approach calls for farmers to be prepared

The latest update from the Bureau of Meteorology has shown climate models have remained steady since the BOM’s previous report in April.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation outlook has remained at the ‘watch’ stage, which means ENSO is currently neutral.

Vic Hub director Michael Tausz said updates from BOM provided the latest information on the likely effect of ENSO on Australia in the upcoming spring and summer.

“A neutral ENSO indicates around a 50 per cent chance of El Niño developing this year, which is in the region of double the normal likelihood,” Prof Tausz said.

“An El Niño watch is no guarantee that El Niño will actually occur, rather it signals that some of the typical signs are in place.

“The aim of issuing these regular outlook updates is to caution via a stepped approach based on incremental changes, rather than a sudden announcement.”

“ENSO is just one of various climate drivers that can influence Australia’s temperature and rainfall patterns.”

The El Niño forecaster is currently set at 'watch', meaning that El Niño is a possibility later this year. — The El Niño forecaster is currently set at ‘watch’, meaning that El Niño is a possibility later this year. Photo: Vic Hub

Vic Hub regional director Fiona Best said the current situation highlighted the critical investment and work of the Federal Government’s Future Drought Fund in preparing businesses and communities in regional Victoria.

“The climate driver updates help the community plan,” Ms Best said.

“We’ve monitored the updates published since mid-February, and we know that El Niño characteristically suppresses rainfall across Victoria during winter and spring,” she said.

Ms Best said that now was the best time for all farmers to put various elements of their operation ‘under a drought-resilience microscope’.

Ms Best said farmers had many resources to access to assist strong farm businesses to become drought prepared and drought resilient.

For more information on the Vic Hub and its work, visit: https://vicdroughthub.org.au

A drought resilience tool can be found at: http://drsat.com.au

Look also

Rising Butter Prices Give European Consumers and Bakers a Bad Taste

The price for the butter so essential to the pastries has shot up in recent months, by 25% since September alone, Delmontel says.

You may be interested in

Ag observer says dairy industry is up against many challenges in the year ahead

Rising Butter Prices Give European Consumers and Bakers a Bad Taste

The shape of things to come: Global dairy markets

Topics |
El Niño

Legal notice about Intellectual Property in digital contents. All information contained in these pages that is NOT owned by eDairy News and is NOT considered “public domain” by legal regulations, are registered trademarks of their respective owners and recognized by our company as such. The publication on the eDairy News website is made for the purpose of gathering information, respecting the rules contained in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; in Law 11.723 and other applicable rules. Any claim arising from the information contained in the eDairy News website shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Ordinary Courts of the First Judicial District of the Province of Córdoba, Argentina, with seat in the City of Córdoba, excluding any other jurisdiction, including the Federal.