High variability in Australia's climate will mean farmers will need to be more adaptable to variable weather conditions in upcoming years.
Seasonal risk agronomist Dale Grey showed that farmers, particularly in southern areas of Victoria, saw high volatility in rainfall amounts.
Data presented at an Agriculture Victoria webinar showed the historical rainfall in Cobden in the southeast of Victoira since 1894 during March and April varied from 10 millimetres to around 270mm, with an average rainfall of 115mm.
It was the same deal in Yarram in the southwest of Victoria, with historical figures since 1886 showing anywhere between 10mm to 310mm recordings of rainfall for those two months each year, with an average of 120mm.
"Australia has the highest rainfall variability than any other country in the world," Mr Grey said during the webinar, who also said temperature changes can see big effects.
"Two degrees warmer temperature gives you much better growth in winter and no one's going to argue that wouldn't be a bad thing down in the south, where temperature is the driving feature there in the winter where nothing much grows at all," he said.
He urged farmers to keep a close eye on their soil was an important factor for farmers when dealing with such variability.
"Farmers seeking to take the first steps in managing variable weather can consider how much moisture is in soil profiles and if there is an increased chance of waterlogging.
"Have good farm systems in place so they know where they stand with stored water, fodder and the likely demand."
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Regular tracking allows farmers to adjust management as the season unfolds, and was important to note as small changes in temperature made big changes into a region's climate.
Mr Grey also encouraged farmers to map out some scenarios of what they would do if a drier, average or wetter season were to play out.
"Stay attuned to what soil moisture measurements are saying and take notice of the annual weeds which will indicate how far off pasture is," he said.
He said that farmers throughout Victoria, by nature, are good at risk management but encouraged having a plan in place, which will support them to act when needed.
"Having feed on hand is effective in managing summer and autumn feed shortage in rainfed systems, but being prepared to act quickly in late breaks or having extra feed is one way to mitigate against poor seasonal breaks," he said.
"As seasonal variability increases, fodder availability will vary - plentiful in some seasons and scarce in others.
"Having good water and fodder systems is advantageous."
Recognising climate data and applying it on-farm can be a gradual process according to Mr Grey but being aware of factors like moisture being held in the atmosphere with each degree increase in climate would make farmers better prepared for autumn breaks.
"The decision to change one's farm management may be influenced if the farm has experienced multiple tough seasons with very dry or wet climate events before," he said.
"For example, in southern dairy regions, updating management of farms to account for weather changes may not be needed, whereas farmers in areas in the north may have needed to update their farm management in the last decade."
