Farm floods will hit food supplies and drive up prices. Farmers need help to adapt as weather extremes worsen

Fri, 4 Nov 2022 19:44:21 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/farm-floods-will-hit-food-supplies-and-drive-up-prices-farmers-need-help-to-adapt-as-weather-extremes-worsen-192731>

"Some of Victoria’s most important agricultural regions are among the areas
worst hit by severe floods inundating the state this week.

This may lead to food shortages and higher supermarket prices for milk, fruit,
vegetables and other farm products. Indeed, about 20% of Victoria’s milk is
produced in flood-affected regions, and millions of litres now may be lost.

For farmers, the floods will certainly be devastating. Over the last five
years, Australian farm businesses have faced a relentless string of extreme
events, from drought to unprecedented bushfires.

Now, floods are destroying crops, drowning livestock or damaging equipment and
infrastructure. Indirect impacts also flow from road closures and electricity
outages that can severely interrupt farm operations, damaging products and
harming animal welfare.

Farmers face a multitude of challenges in future. Climate change is projected
to lead to more frequent severe floods, as well as other climate extremes such
as heatwaves and drought. How do farmers adapt to these changes and how can
governments support them?"

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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