Land Water and Wool Case Study: Melissa Rebbeck, SARDI

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Farming in the first decade of the 21st century in Australia is as challenging now as it was 100 years ago, but the grab-bag of tools that help farmers manage for drought and flood is growing.

South Australian wool, wheat and barley growers Susan and Ben Carn are making the most of these tools. They farm 8000 hectares running 4000 to 5000 sheep in a low rainfall area at Quorn, north of the infamous Goyder’s Line of Rainfall, the demarcation established in 1865 above which anything other than grazing wool sheep was considered too risky.

The Carns are not averse to risk. In bumper years, they can reap 1.4 tonnes of wheat a hectare. Conversely, bad years can be horrible but after 25 years in the game the Carns have learnt to build these into their budgets too. With plans to remain farming, building in losses in poor years and maximising returns in good years have become their modus operandi.

“If we know there’s a risk of lower than average rainfall we can moderate our exposure to losses by sowing less crop or spraying less,” says Susan.

She soaks up climate risk management information and skills and belongs to the Hawker Best Practice Group, a collective of her region’s best farmers who share knowledge and set benchmarks for profitability and environmental sustainability.