A big part of the job of managing a farm is assessing and managing risks.
Farms are affected by a long list of potential risks including farm safety, commodity price risks, biosecurity risk, financial risks and many others.
It is fair to say that at the moment weather - lack of rain and unseasonably warm temperatures - are challenging the management skills of most farmers.
Fortunately, we now have a lot more readily accessible information to help assess and manage these risks.
The past winter and spring have been very dry across most of eastern Australia and we have experience record temperatures this spring.
This has resulted in the early onset of the fire season and the failure of many winter crops.
So how does a farmer make decisions about what is likely to happen and what to do next?
Farmers make decisions using their knowledge of the local weather conditions and expectations about likely seasonal conditions based on experience.
But there have been subtle changes in the climate which are measured and evaluated by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and made available for anyone to use.
The Bureau of Meteorology website (www.bom.gov.au) has a vast amount of useful information and learning resources which will help build a better understanding of climate and weather ranging from forecast for the next few hours through to long term projections.
A good place to start building your knowledge of climate is an introduction to the major climate systems which affect Australia.
Another great resource now available on the BoM website is the Regional Weather and Climate Guides.
These weather and climate guides will give you a great overview of trends.
These provide an overview of trends over the last 20 or 30 years, changes in the amount and annual rainfall distribution, temperature trends and evaporation, and incidence of frost.
Further to these resources there is a vast amount of data readily available from the BoM which can help you better understand your local climate and weather.
You may be surprised to find extensive records stretching back many years from a weather station fairly close to your home.
You can then use this new knowledge and information to start developing a weather risk management plan. Once you know a bit more about what is really happening, you are in a much better position to make decisions.
Another good resource is the AgGuide 'Managing climate risk on your farm' available from Tocal College.
