Antinuclear

Farmer Josh Gilbert goes to Paris, as rural Australia wakes up to climate change

Farmer attitudes to climate change across generations ABC Rural  By Lucy Barbour  28 Nov 15 The nation’s farmers could be considered the sentinels of climate change; they are more attuned than most to long-term changes in weather patterns.

But many of them are yet to be convinced that man-made climate change is real, arguing that floods and droughts are cyclical and extreme temperatures are nothing new.

It is a view some younger producers are now challenging and they are reshaping their farming practices to suit the changing climate. 

Josh Gilbert’s family has farmed at Nabiac in regional New South Wales for generations.

Josh and his father Andy have had many conversations about climate change over the years, and how it could affect their prize-winning cattle stud…….Josh Gilbert takes climate change very seriously, chairing a group of young activists trying to raise awareness of the challenges farmers face as temperatures become more extreme.

The National Farmers Federation is leaving it up to farmers to consider climate change, as they do any other business risk, but this year Josh led the push at a state level for more action.

He wanted the NSW Farmers’ Association to rewrite its policy on climate change altogether.

“So we’ve moved away from a position where we wanted a Royal Commission into whether climate change was real and whether humans were actually inducing climate change into something more proactive, recognising that farmers really are on the front lines of climate change, and that renewables are also one of the solutions that we need to look at,” Mr Gilbert said…….

For farming families across the country, climate change can be a diverse issue.

It can be difficult for parents when the younger generation wants to radically change the way things have always been done.

But rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns have forced many producers to rethink the way they farm, everywhere from cattle country, to wheat belts to vineyards……..

As families continue to adapt to climate change, young farmers like Josh Gilbert see it as an opportunity, rather than a burden.

He has crowdfunded his way to Paris where he will soon attend the United Nation’s Climate Change conference, COP21, to learn more about renewable energy and to send a strong message to world leaders.

“For politicians there I think the opportunity is there to really recognise that farmers have been adapting to climate change really well,” he said.

“I think for agriculture as a whole this is our opportunity to not only feed and clothe the world, but also empower our community.”

Andy Gilbert still is not completely sold on climate change, but he hopes his and his son’s story will encourage other farmers to keep an open mind. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-28/nrn-intergenerational-farmers-climate/6980326

November 27, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | General News