Australia - deep in drought by Jay Wynne
The Australian drought continues to worsen. While there has been some heavy rain in places, many farmers are crying out for some useful rain. Almost half of the country’s farming land is drought affected and the situation for many looks unlikely to improve.
Many farmers in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South and Western Australia have been declared eligible for ‘exceptional circumstances drought assistance’.
Eastern Australia has vast tracks of agricultural land including grazing areas for enormous herds of sheep and cattle. If there isn’t enough rain then there is little for the animals to eat. During droughts, as a last resort, when unable to feed their livestock, farmers have to sell them.
The knock-on effect is that meat prices rise as supplies are limited and the big supermarkets compete for good quality beef and lamb. Even if there is some heavy rain in the coming weeks it is unlikely to break the drought across all the affected areas. Any rain is also unlikely to reduce the price of red meat as supplies will remain scant with the farmers holding onto as much of their stock as possible in order to rebuild their herds.
Some wild animals are also beginning to feel the effects of the drought. The red-tailed black cockatoo is a rare species indeed. Around about 1000 of them live on the border between Victoria and South Australia and they could be the next victim of the drought. They tend to feed and live in trees which are scattered through farmland in the area.
In response to the drought, farmers are keen to conserve whatever water they can. Clearing trees from their land will allow any rain to be used by other plants but will also destroy the habitat of these rare birds.
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