Farming for the future

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Wednesday 28 May 2008

BACKGROUND BRIEFING: Farming for the Future

Wed 28 May at 11am AEST in Brisbane and online.

The future holds big changes for farming in Australia and agriculture will have to face painful challenges: Climate change, ongoing drought, carbon costs and the added pressure of ever-changing consumer preferences will all alter the way Australia farms into the future. While no one knows what future holds, research is already sketching the path to sustainability.

This background briefing organised by the CSIRO and the Australian Science Media Centre. Follow the resources below to hear from scientists who are working to help rural Australians improve their farming techniques, and seek new sources of income.

Feel free to use the resources below in your stories. If you would like to speak to an expert, don’t hesitate to contact us on (08) 8207 7415 or by email.

Further information and resources on this briefing are available at www.csiro.au

The briefing discussed the following questions:

Can Australian soils be used to generate carbon credits?
How can agriculture and biodiversity co-exist?
What is the reality of drought tolerant crops?
Will the next generation of grains be able to address the major diet related health problems facing Australia?

SPEAKERS:

	Dr Neil McKenzie – Chief of CSIRO Land and Water Division –Are Australian soils a significant constraint on our future? \| Neil's audio \| Neil's PowerPoint (pdf)
	Dr Geoff Baker – Program Leader, Invasion Biology & Functional Ecology CSIRO Entomology– Biodiversity and farming. \| Geoff's audio \| Geoff's PowerPoint (pdf)
	Dr Ray Shorter – Senior Principal research scientist CSIRO Plant Industry - Improving wheat yields under drought. \| Ray's audio \| Ray's PowerPoint (pdf)
	Dr Matthew Morell – Theme Leader, Food Futures Flagship - Future Grains, of Grain Based Foods and Feed – Future Grains for Future Health. \| Matthew's audio \| Matthew's PowerPoint (pdf)
	Discussion
	To watch a replay of the briefing click here.

BRIEFING DETAILS:

DATE: Wednesday 28 May 2008

START TIME: 11.00am AEST

VENUE: Brisbane CBD and online

DURATION: 60 minutes

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