Watch the recording
Do you need to know more about the El Nino alert and what it will mean for your farm?
Want to find out which indicators you should use for forecasting and what you can be doing now to prepare your farm for the coming conditions?
In this webinar you’ll hear from Bureau of Meteorology Senior Climatologist Catherine Ganter, who will take you on a deep dive to explain why the BOM has declared an El Nino alert and what it will mean for weather patterns across Australia. Catherine will also discuss what indicators farmers should be using for weather and long-range forecasting.
You will also hear from Graeme Hand, a Holistic Management Certified Educator, who will talk us through holistic decision-making processes you can use to prepare your farm for an El Nino.
Fiona Best, CEO of Birchip Cropping Group, will then talk through strategies they are developing to make cropping operations more resilient to drought.
Speakers
Catherine Ganter
Catherine is a senior climatologist at the Bureau of Meteorology. She has a Bachelor of Science (Hons.), majoring in meteorology. She has 15 years of experience working in climate.
She has been involved in a range of work during her time within climate monitoring and prediction at the Bureau, presently working on seasonal prediction and assessing the state of the major Australian climate drivers, such as El Niño. She is particularly interested in the communication of climate forecasts to stakeholders such as the farming community, and how they are being used to make decisions.
Her latest challenge has been adjusting to life with two curious kids.
Graeme Hand
Graeme Hand has worked as an industrial chemist, international marketer, meat industry consultant (MSA) as well as farm consultant to many family and corporate farmers. He has trained farmers and herders and spoken at universities and conferences in Mongolia, India, Brazil, USA and Canada. He has a special interest in working with farmers helping to create profitable, regenerative farm businesses which are enjoyable to work in.
When not traveling for work Graeme splits his time between Sunshine Coast, Queensland and East Gippsland, Vicotria (leased farm). He runs his own consultancy and training business and has delivered workshops across Australia & internationally to cropping and grazing farmers on farm financial health checks, landscape function planned grazing and forage & cover cropping. All material is from on-ground research and has been confirmed to work in practice.
Fiona Best
Fiona Best returned to Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) in November 2019 as CEO, after 9 years working in the education sector teaching agriculture. In her position as CEO, Fiona works to bring relevant agricultural research and extension opportunities to farming communities by attracting investments to improve the prosperity of broadacre farming locally, regionally and nationally.
Fiona is excited to be back at BCG because of the large part the organisation plays in the community and its role supporting farmers to be viable and prosperous. She is proud of BCG’s achievements and contributions over the last 28 years and has a strong desire to contribute positively to the ongoing journey and evolution of the group.
After growing up on her mixed enterprise family farm, cropping and producing sheep, Fiona studied a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Melbourne.
