As outlined in the Future Drought Fund (FDF) explanatory statement, “Australian farmers and their communities operate with unique, complex, and dynamic environments. As a result, diverse place-based arrangements are needed to build drought resilience that align to the unique attributes of different farming businesses, landscapes and communities”. Therefore, this project is designed to identify the adaptation challenges and contribute to the Hub strategic planning process.
Climate change presents different challenges for South Australia’s primary industries, with impacts varying between grains, livestock, viticulture and horticulture. This project developed a practical framework to help industry, researchers, advisers and policy makers better understand where climate adaptation pressures are greatest and where future research, investment and adaptation efforts should be focused.
Drawing on the latest climate and agricultural science, the project assessed six key climate change drivers and their likely impacts across South Australia’s major agricultural industries, providing a practical resource to support long-term climate resilience planning.
Project description:
This project reviewed current climate science, agricultural research and industry knowledge to identify the climate change pressures most likely to affect South Australia’s major primary industries. Rather than duplicating existing climate adaptation work, the project focused on developing a practical framework that brings together climate science, agricultural impacts and adaptation options into an accessible decision-support resource.
The framework considered six key climate drivers: increasing average temperatures, extreme heat, frost, seasonal rainfall, rainfall intensity and elevated carbon dioxide. These were assessed across four major industries; grains, livestock, viticulture and horticulture, to identify where adaptation pressures are greatest and where confidence in the available science is strongest.
Project findings were shared through presentations, workshops and industry engagement activities involving growers, advisers, government, researchers and industry organisations, helping support informed conversations about climate resilience across South Australian agriculture.
Key achievements and results:
Project Update – 2025
This project was developed in response to the recommendation by DAFF for Drought Hubs to envision how ongoing droughts and a changing climate will impact their region and plan what the Hub can strategically implement to support communities build resilience and adapt. Most Drought Hub activities are within the time horizon of preparing for and recovering from, a single drought. Although this project has a longer time horizon, conversations on climate change with researchers, farmers and advisers are dominated by the severity of the current drought. In addition to questions of the fingerprint of climate change on the drought, discussion about recovery and preparedness include references to ‘a new normal’. Climate resilience and adaptation include notions of ‘building back better’ or at least building back differently. The objective of the project is to provide a ranking of adaptation challenges for the main primary industries across agricultural regions of South Australia. An initial version is attached (see attachment 1). In this progress report we address the challenges of engaging with busy stakeholders, dealing with multiple sources of technical information and the range of frameworks for adaptation planning at different government and industry levels.
Access the most recent version (October 2025) of the climate change impacts on SA land based primary industries summary, co-authored by SA Drought Hub Deputy Director, Dr. Peter Hayman, and Dane Thomas, SARDI Climate Applications. Please note, this is a working document that will be updated regularly.
Project Update – 2026
The project concluded with the release of a practical framework assessing climate adaptation pressures across South Australia’s grains, livestock, viticulture and horticulture industries. Rather than attempting to predict individual farming outcomes, the framework helps identify where climate pressures are likely to be greatest and where current research provides confidence in available adaptation options.
Key findings showed that viticulture and horticulture face the greatest adaptation pressures, followed by grains, while extensive livestock currently faces comparatively lower adaptation pressures. Across industries, the greatest long-term risks relate to changes in water availability and increasing extreme heat, while confidence in adaptation options varies depending on the climate driver and industry.
The project also highlighted that adaptation is not solely about responding to future climate projections. Farmers continue to adapt successfully through improved technology, management and decision-making, but conversations with industry reinforced that practical, incremental adaptation is often more achievable than transformational change. The concept of “adaptation pressures” was well received by growers and industry, providing a more constructive way to discuss climate resilience than focusing solely on risk or vulnerability.
Project findings were presented to more than 375 producers, advisers, researchers, policy makers and students through industry presentations, workshops and conferences. The framework has already been incorporated into climate adaptation workshops, GRDC adviser updates and discussions with farming systems groups, government agencies and industry organisations, helping inform future climate resilience planning across South Australia.
Further information: