Climate change wasn't considered for a dedicated chapter in the government's blueprint for agriculture.
But agriculture department officials say there were options to help farmers deal with its impacts in the white paper.
"Clearly the impacts of climate change were considered in a number of the measures," official Paul Morris told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday.
Labor senator Doug Cameron wanted to know if anyone had asked why climate change was missed during consultations on the paper.
"Hey minister, you forgot about climate change ... did anyone say that," he asked.
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"I'm sure from memory, they did," Mr Morris replied, adding that climate change was mentioned in a draft "green" paper.
