pursuitgirl

Most of the old cockies round my area say we have been through worse droughts and my relatives that have properties throughout lightning ridge say the same thing and that its just the way that the news is hyping it up to make it more than it is my unk in the ridge says that is just a cycle in nature. But i am sure it is probably different in other areas of aus.

konny063

well in the area i liv in (lower north of Sa, at mallala) it is a below average year, but if you go about 40-odd km's north east it improves alot. i personally don't think that this has anything to do with global warming, and is jus a twenty year cycle... the last big drought this bad was in 1982, i wasn't alive then but my family didnt deliver one grain to the silo's that year so this isnt looking so bad im comparasin

Carrots

Well said....have been on the road the past couple of days talking to farmers and the general consensus at the moment its not too bad and a lot are actually quite happy. This is because its not as bad as they'd expected by a long long way. Can always rely on pollies and the media to over exaggerate these things!

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innocent_lil_devil

im not sure if i understood this right so feel free to correct me if im wrong. but didnt the pm re asess the drought assistance for farmers 'in extream conditions' but why is it that wa has been left out? is this assistance that he is talking about just for this season or for always? if its for always why arent we included??

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"smarter than the average bear"

Carrots

Its a more current thing than always. People that have been effected in recent times etc and based upon their assessments are in areas of extreme drought etc. Barely any of SAs farmers and graziers come under it.

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TanUteGirl

I'm in Bendigo and it's starting to get pretty scary. Speaking to a water carter the other day and we apparently have less than 8 weeks supply of water here, I've now moved off the property as the tanks are bone dry and even creek supply wasn't helping.

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MrsPotatoHead

I think Vic is one of the hardest hit states currently.
I've heard of towns running out of water and having to get water carted in.

Most crops around here won't make grain, they're cutting it all early for hay before it goes back into the ground.

I'll have to buy in hay this year when normally I'd be selling it!!

Cattle and sheeps prices are very low, at Hamilton Saleyards last week heaps of sheep were sold for less than 10 cents and 1000 wethers were taken for free!!

I'm glad the cattle prices don't affect me...No matter what the prices of cattle are the meat in the Supermarket always stays the same which means I can keep charging the same amount for my Highland beef!!

I do think it is a cycle though. We have only been recording the weather and rainfall for the past 120 or so years in Australia, we could have had much drier years in the past and not known!

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beambabe

Well we arent having a great year, but its much better than last year here for us. Last year we had major hail and weve had floods and drought, but thats farming for you. Least we got all our crop in, feel sorry for the farmers that couldnt do that for lack of rain.

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doc

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Dazza_XL

The government is handing out money... But you can't feed cattle and sheep $50 notes.
At the moment, in QLD at least... I can't find any protein meal whatsoever.
The only supplement that is readily available is Lick Blocks.
But they can't just survive on lick blocks alone...