Peter Holding was thinking about the climate long before it became a topic of conversation in the "wine bars of our inner cities".
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The farmer from Harden in the Riverina first realised farming practices needed to change after drought struck in 1981, but it wasn't until the late 1990s that the effects of global warming became clear.
"It's been a long journey," he said.
"I felt that after '81 drought ... we had to change the system.
"But I think what became pretty clear is that you can adapt up to a point but, if we don't get serious about this, adaption isn't going to be enough."
Mr Holding is one of 7000 farmers and agricultural leaders calling for the government to take greater action to protect Australia's food supply from the effects of climate change.
A report released this week by Farmers for Climate Action said an increase in natural disasters and more extreme weather is already reducing the productivity of the agricultural industry, causing shortages and more expensive prices for food.
CEO Fiona Davis said extreme weather events, such as the floods destroying supply routes in South Australia and the more recent floods across NSW and Queensland, showed the impact climate change was having across the supply chain.
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"We're seeing food supply issues arise in ways we've never seen before," she said.
"We need to have alternate routes that aren't close or parallel to current routes, but ultimately our call is about reducing emissions ... that's the root cause of what we're seeing."
Ms Davis said the agriculture industry had already taken steps to reduce its emissions and it is time for the government to help other industries transition as quickly as possible.
"We've got the 2030 goals for the red meat industry, Australian pork plans to be carbon neutral by 2025," she said.
"What we need now is to really see the energy and transport sectors step up."
NSW Young Farmers chair Mitch Highett is not a member of the farmers for climate action group, but said farmers across the state were moving away from a "fix it when it comes" attitude to make their farms more climate resilient.
He said young farmers were "very forward thinking" when it comes to adapting their farming practices to the effects of climate change.
"They're very adept with the technologies that are available that can actually help measure and quantify some of these (effects) ...And then being able to actually manage them as well," he said.
Peter Holding said it was important for farming communities to raise their voices and take advantage of a "once in a generation" opportunity to change Australia's energy and agricultural systems.
"I think country people are very polite and tend not to tell strangers what they think if they can avoid it," he said.
"I think it's getting the point where people are going to start speaking up."
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