Agriculture suffers from the same problem as Renewables - theres nothing in it for John Howard and his Coal-ition for corporate thievery.

Oops, i forgot Manildra, the ethanol producer run by Howard buddy Dick Honen. So many scandles its hard to keep track, but then ethanol is not really a renewable fuel.
"The shadow treasurer, Mark Latham, read to Parliament yesterday a Department of Finance document outlining its objections to the ethanol protections that provide Manildra, a major Liberal Party donor, with more than $20 million a year in subsidies."
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/13/1060588464157.html

Julian, ease up a bit. Take a breather. Lift your head and take a broader view of the landscape.
Yes, you are right that the overworked beast pulling the plough of agriculture deserves a good regular feed rather than a continuous flogging. But – no matter how well it might get fed, can it maintain an ever-increasing pace?
You mention the Fenner School as one of a bundle of newly-emergent institutions getting hitched at the altar of climate change. From my bystanders viewpoint, the Fenner School is no newcomer - rather, it is a re-vamped institution arising from the John Curtin School of Medical Research.
However, the Fenner School probably deserves special mention above all the others: it has the potential to take that broad view which is essential to address present difficulties of the human species.
Frank Fenner himself, as did his father before him, long recognized the difficulties – now approaching the insurmountable – with which humanity burdens itself by continuously expanding its numbers.
Unless society, in Australia every bit as importantly as elsewhere, takes adequate notice and acts upon advice which will come from such an important source and factors in the issue of human numbers – then good works emanating from elsewhere will eventually fail; for climate change, for agriculture.

Governments seem to have a knack of backing energy duds; hydrogen and corn ethanol with the Bush administration and clean coal with the Coal-ition. For agriculture not only will there be annual rainfall variation of plus or minus 50% there will be summer cold snaps, winter dust storms and dramatic price increases in fertiliser. The latter is since oil happens to be at the start of a permanent decline, just to add to our climate woes. Perhaps 'special circumstances' relief might henceforth be given to farmers three years out of four while decrying US and EU subsidies.

Meanwhile I'll wait patiently for the long promised La Nina to fill the farm dams. Let governments get on with their foreign wars or whatever it is they are good at.

Very interesting Julian. Does this mean that Australia will become far less coveted by the teaming hordes to our north? If so perhaps we could put half the annual defence budget into establishing, maintaining and exporting best climate change practice. It is a magnificent challenge. Howard and Rudd could turn all their naturally occuring jingoism into supporting Australian climate change export industries which of course would have local spin off.
The challenge needs to be seen as mobilisation akin to wartime.What you have described is a total lack of co-ordination,understanding and/or denial of the nature of the problem, vision and leadership skills to embrace this significant and in many ways exciting challenge.
Now that you have alerted me I will apply for research funding on behalf of the Mudgee Institute for Oenological Excellence and its sister organisation the Gulgong Olea Europaea Research Center.
All the best
Bruce Haigh