Australia's climate is changing, with long-term trends becoming more evident, along with increasing frequency and intensity of extreme events. Industries such as Agriculture, which are currently exposed to climatic variability and change, will become increasingly exposed going forward. The Wine Industry will need to continue to manage this changing climate risk and variability, both now and in the coming decades.
The Bureau and CSIRO have been funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund to engage with agricultural producers to develop the Climate Services for Agriculture (CSA) platform to help inform on and manage this increasing risk. The CSA helps build the resilience of Australian agriculture to climate change by providing accessible and relevant climate and water related information.
Climate Indices tailored specifically to selected agricultural commodities, including wine-grape production, are being introduced onto the platform. Historical trends in these climate and water variables can be explored, alongside future projections. To help manage the changing seasonal climate variability the CSA platform also presents seasonal forecast information that is directly applicable to agricultural decision making. While industry experts have informed selection of the climate indices to date, we welcome further feedback.
Government funded projects such as the Forewarned is Forearmed project, in strong consultation with industry groups and key stakeholders, are delivering more targeted forecast information for agriculture. This will become available through the CSA platform throughout the coming years, again in consultation with users.
The Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO will continue to work with the Agricultural Industry and service providers to manage the impacts of climate change and seasonal variability to improve farm resilience and increase farm profitability.

There are good reasons for concern and pessimism about the impacts of any increase in the scarcity of water for Australian viticulture. There are also reasons for hope and optimism.

Three reasons for concern.

First, water underpins Australian viticulture. Almost all winegrapes in Australia are irrigated. Furthermore, water is essential to minimise the impact of rising temperature and heatwaves. Second, climate change will threaten most sources of water including rainfall stored in the rootzone, local dams and reservoirs, groundwater and water imported from outside the region via a river or pipeline. A 10% reduction in rainfall may result in 20% to 30% reduction in runoff. Although recycled water is relatively independent of climate, this source of water is not widely available. And third, diverse demands for water will interact with a changing climate. Viticulture competes for irrigation water with other agricultural industries along with competition from environmental flows and urban demand.

Three reasons for optimism.

First, vines can survive considerable water stress and the water use per hectare is less than most other irrigated crops. Growers can reduce water use with a modest reduction in yield but a potential increase in quality. Second, Australia has innovated with a sophisticated market to trade water. Many wine grape growers have learned how to use this water trading for their enterprise. And third there have been decades of RD&E on the physiology of vine water use and innovative approaches to irrigation management. Importantly this science has been adapted to practice. Furthermore, there is emerging research and practice on managing water. Sources for this improvement come from the Internet of Things and Agtech, better forecasts of weather and climate, better understanding of soil and vine response, low-cost desalination of ground water, fine tuning of water trading and the endless curiosity of growers experimenting within their vineyards.