17-12-2003

Australia's farmers and natural resource planners and managers have enthusiastically taken up an offer for the free promotional version of the Rainman + Streamflow software package.

People who want to secure a copy are encouraged to order now or risk missing out, as 80 per cent of copies have been distributed and the promotion finishes on December 31.

Rainman + Streamflow includes historical monthly and daily rainfall data from 3800 locations throughout Australia and gives you the power to analyse these records for individual locations to identify seasonal, monthly and daily rainfall patterns.

It can test the reliability of seasonal forecasts based on the relationship of the historical data and the current Southern Oscillation Index level and locations can be grouped to provide a regional analysis. By also including data from some 9500 locations world-wide, the program can even forecast seasonal rainfall in key production areas of competing countries, including India, Brazil, Canada and the USA.

Rainman generates an in-depth risk profile of the seasonal forecast regarding the total likely rainfall, whether the 'break of season' or 'wet season' will be early or late, and how often rainfall events are likely to occur.

The seasonal forecast analyses in Rainman are based on the El Niño/Southern Oscillation and can be applied to assess the amount, timing and frequency of river flows. The software includes historical readings from 400 river gauging stations.

Rainman + Streamflow has been developed by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries with support and input from the Bureau of Meterology, University of Melbourne, NSW Agriculture, WA Department of Agriculture, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the Climate Variability in Agriculture Programme (now Managing Climate Variability).

The software package includes tutorials on its use, an interactive publication Will it rain? The effect of the Southern Oscillation and El Niño in Australia, tutorials on variability in rainfall and streamflow and links to web sites for world-wide climate forecasting.

The promotional version of the software is the same as the full Standard edition, except that it will expire on September 30, 2004. The promotion is restricted to one copy per farming enterprise, household or organisation, and participants must agree to take part in an evaluation of the software in spring 2004.

Standard, Educational and Professional versions of the Rainman Streamflow software are available for purchase. To order a promotional or full version of the Rainman Streamflow software go to www.lwa.gov.au/rainman or call 1800 776 616 and quote product code EC030609.

The promotion is being conducted by the Managing Climate Variability Programme with funding from the Natural Heritage Trust.

The Managing Climate Variability Programme is managed by Land & Water Australia on behalf of the program partners the Grains, Rural Industries and Sugar Research and Development Corporations, the Natural Heritage Trust, Dairy Australia and Land & Water Australia.

ENDS

A high resolution (TIF) image of the cover for the Rainman software is available upon request to:

Media Officer, Land & Water Australia 02 6263 6000

For interviews with the software developers or representatives from the Managing Climate Variability Programme contact Land & Water Australia Media Officer, 02 6263 6000 or Jeff Clewett (Queensland Centre for Climate Applications, Department of Primary Industries, Toowoomba) 07 46 881244.

NOTE: Story about the software and its development, and stories about the experience of people who regularly use the software are also available. The full list is included in the attachment.

For more information or copies of these stories contact Media Officer, Land & Water Australia 02 6263 6000