Climate resilience on-farm action planner (cereals): Wetter autumns/winters and extreme rainfall

Here are some of the impacts of wetter autumns/winters and extreme rainfall and the actions you can take using our Climate resilience on-farm action planner for cereals and oilseeds.

Warmer, wetter autumns and winters can be expected in the future. By mid-century, the average winter rainfall is expected to be approximately 5% wetter, and daily rainfall could be 10% more intense compared with the long-term average (1981–2010).

Potential impacts of this include:

• Inaccessible fields and disruption to field operations
• Loss of crops
• Reduced land availability for spreading manure or slurry
• Ability to implement soil conservation/regenerative practices, e.g. no till
• Soil erosion and run-off risks
• Increased risk of crop disease transmission from one field to another

Actions:

• Maintenance of field drains and drainage ditches. Or consider investing in drainage system for problem fields to cope with higher rainfall intensities
• Complete, implement and annually review your soils management plan
• Maintain/increase soil organic matter, e.g. through appropriate use of manures, compost, cover crops and mulches
• Prevention or reduction of soil compaction, including tyre choices and pressures and decision support tools to prevent compaction from machinery
• Change cropping rotations to avoid potentially flooded land

• Potential for increased site surface water and flooding leading to:
  • Power failure
  • Infrastructure damage including farm vehicles and equipment
• Provision of emergency pumps to remove floodwater and identifying the lowest-risk location for discharge of floodwaters
• Drains managed thoughout year. Install additional surface water drains if necessary
• Increase surface water storage capacity
• Additional housing capacity of stock over the winter to rest grazing land

There is potential for contaminated floodwater and surface water run-off from the site to cause pollution, including pesticides leaching into groundwater and surface water via drains.

• Store all chemicals securely
• Manage drainage systems, including any interceptors, to avoid uncontrolled release of pollutants

There is the possibility of contamination from myctoxins.

• Assess feed for spoilage as it could be contaminated, which can cause health problems through toxicity or infections

• Review previous crop harvesting timings/methods and current establishment methods and timeliness, especiallly on diffcult fields/soils, to prioritise and plan improvements, where needed
• Monitor crops closely for disease development and implement appropriate measures as needed, potentially adjusting application timings based on growth stage and disease pressure
• Adjust nitrogen applications to account for potential losses due to leaching and focus on spring applications for optimal uptake; consider foliar applications if appropriate
• Switching to spring-sown cereals if planting is significantly delayed

• Building winter water storage facilities/reservoirs to take advantage of periods of heavy rainfall and store rainwater
• Include riparian tree planting and agroforestry