About 200 primary producers, agricultural advisors, carbon traders and catchment management representatives attended the Managing Climate Risk in Agriculture forum on Thursday.

The aim was to better understand climate risks and opportunities facing agriculture and our 85,000 farmers, according to Farmers for Climate Action chair and Wymah beef producer Lucinda Corrigan.

“Climate risk goes beyond the direct impacts of weather extremes on crops and livestock,” she said.

“Climate risk management is fast becoming core business— including in legal firms, insurance agencies, and banks.

“If farmers want to stay profitable and sustainable, they need to do the same.”

The release of the IPCC’s 1.5 degree report this month warned even a half-a-degree more warming could jeopardise Australia’s farming future – food security, hundreds of thousands of livelihoods, and whole communities around the country.

Mrs Corrigan said the clear message from our best scientists was that extreme weather was becoming more frequent and intense.

She said this would require farmers and industries to get “climate smart” and develop capabilities to adapt:

“Many farmers and scientists are already working together exploring ways to cut emissions, store carbon, lift efficiency, raise productivity, and build resilience.”