Thread: Crisis in the bush. Drought forcing graziers to consider doing the unthinkable

Not really a crisis......

Given we export 70% of our beef it’s all about the dollar.....running cattle on country that that isn’t sustainable year on year you need a lot of luck on your side.

Farmer friends of mine say it risk v reward......

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Why? Because his missus left him?

No - in fact, the divorce settlement cost him a lot, and he told me he had to struggle not to have had to sell any land. But that was a couple of years ago, when the seasons were good and the price of lambs ridiculously high (still is pretty high).

Originally Posted by weeds

Not really a crisis......

Given we export 70% of our beef it’s all about the dollar.....running cattle on country that that isn’t sustainable year on year you need a lot of luck on your side.

Farmer friends of mine say it risk v reward......

Not according to the RFDS. Life on the land has always been risk V reward. It takes a special person to stick it out. [edit] The RFDS saved my Mother, and my Brothers life 63 years ago, in Ilfracombe, during a difficult birth. Mum died on the 8th of May, this year, aged 91. A thank you card has been sent to RFDS, relating that story. The overriding memory of my time out west as a kid is the smell of rotting sheep, during the big drought during the 50's. And then is the memory of the major floods, when we almost ran out of food, Dad saddled the horse and packhorse and rode across a couple of flooded creeks, plus a flooded river, all night to get food for us. There is more, but you get the drift.

Royal Flying Doctor Service warns rural mental health services in 'crisis' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Originally Posted by bob10

Have you ever been a farmer? Do you make your observations thru experience, or imagination,?.

Yes, Yes and No.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Talking to my next door neighbour a couple of weeks ago - he said he is spending $5,000 a week on hay. And spending half a day, seven days a week, feeding stock; hard, relentless work for a man in his late fifties with diabetes and various other health problems. Saw him on Wednesday, and he said he was shipping off a load of cattle that night.

His wife left him a few years ago, and his children are all grown and have left home.

And he is probably one of the better off farmers in the area.

John, is this as bad/worse than '02/'03?

That was horrific.

Originally Posted by rick130

John, is this as bad/worse than '02/'03?

That was horrific.

It is very difficult to compare from memory. Whether it will be as bad or worse will ultimately depend on how long it lasts.

I can only speak about the local situation. The river (Talbragar) is the lowest I have ever seen it, my dam is the lowest I have ever seen it. The problem is not only that there has been no substantial rain since January, but that February, March, and April, and to some extent May, were abnormally hot as well as dry and often with strong, dry winds.

I think this one has come on a lot quicker than the millennial drought.

It is quite variable though. A few weeks ago I drove to Molong and was perturbed by how bad the country looked - then I drove back to Dubbo through Yeoval rather than the Mitchell Hwy, and was horrified by how much worse it looked along there. There is still a fair bit of water in the major dams, so at the moment irrigators are OK - but getting worried!

Originally Posted by JDNSW

It is very difficult to compare from memory. Whether it will be as bad or worse will ultimately depend on how long it lasts.

I can only speak about the local situation. The river (Talbragar) is the lowest I have ever seen it, my dam is the lowest I have ever seen it. The problem is not only that there has been no substantial rain since January, but that February, March, and April, and to some extent May, were abnormally hot as well as dry and often with strong, dry winds.

I think this one has come on a lot quicker than the millennial drought.

It is quite variable though. A few weeks ago I drove to Molong and was perturbed by how bad the country looked - then I drove back to Dubbo through Yeoval rather than the Mitchell Hwy, and was horrified by how much worse it looked along there. There is still a fair bit of water in the major dams, so at the moment irrigators are OK - but getting worried!

The irrigators I just worked for during the last couple of months are very worried. Their allocation comes from Copeton Dam, which is at extremely low level now, and unlikely to release anything before some substantial inflow comes in.
They only put in about 80 ha of wheat (good years, usually about 450 ha irrigated, and 1000 or so dryland), and only had enough stored water to irrigate about 3/4 of it. If no follow-up rain, that will result in a total loss. No summer harvest (the window for planting the seed varieties they have on hand, is shrinking rapidly), means no employment for the people they usually hire during that harvest, also no machinery/vehicle upgrades, so less work for those dealerships and workshops in town. The knock-on effects of a bad season are huge in regional towns. Increasing unemployment, with all the associated problems that brings, as well as increased family breakdowns, domestic violence, suicides, etc. None of that fixed by "unsuccessful" farmers leaving the land.

Originally Posted by trout1105

Yes, Yes and No.

Fair enough. I still agree to disagree with you on some of your thinking. But that's our privilege.