Big dry starts to bite hard
Farmers eye the skies, desperate for rain
IT’S difficult to imagine that less than six months ago, northern NSW and south-east Queensland were experiencing some of the worst floods on record.
Since then, barely a drop of rain has fallen.
Paddocks are dry, the hillsides are brown, a film of dust coats everything, and the earth is parched.
It’s been one of the driest winters on record according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with rainfall in August well below average for coastal north-eastern NSW and parts of south eastern Queensland.
Casino, Dorrigo, Evans Head, Rosebank and Kingscliff all experienced their lowest August rainfall totals on record, with each recording less than 2.5mm. Yamba, New Italy and Byron Bay recorded their lowest total August rainfall in 20 years.
Some localities, including Bentley, South Grafton, Lillian Rock and Minnie Water recorded nothing.
The situation is starting to get serious for many farmers in the region.
Crops are getting stressed and many are being forced to buy in water and stock feed.
Burringbar dairy farmers Deb and Jim Allard have had to buy in three loads of hay at $8000 each during the past few months, which they are going through quickly. With no grass left, it’s now their jersey herd’s primary food source.
Deb says their milk production is down 20-25%.
“We’ve upped a little bit of the grain that they’re having when they get milked, just to keep their protein up.
“Their condition hasn’t actually dropped away which is great, it’s just their milk production has gone down. We’re missing out on those beautiful fresh grass tips.
“All we need is two inches and everything will be back up.”
Well known Murwillumbah farmer Pat McDonald, who
lost 17 head in this year’s flood, and whose herd is still recovering, says it’s been a tough year.
“Ever since the flood we’ve had to supplement with hay and we won’t get a reprieve from that until we get rain,” he said.
He says milk production is two-and-a-half to three litres
below peak average but all things considered, they are doing okay.
Managing the herd with strip grazing, which sees the herd moved to fresh grass each day, has helped conserve what little grass there is left.
“At times you feel desperate about it,” he said,
“but in this area, the rain usually comes at some point.”
If local weather analyst Antonio Parancin, of North Coast Storm Chasers, is right, that rain might be here soon.
He recently posted this promising prediction on the group’s popular Facebook page: “Currently we are in a neutral phase declining into a La Nina phase. What that means is towards the end of this year and into 2018 we will be likely to be in a La Nina phase which means more wet weather and above-average rainfalls.
“I am thinking this dry spell will end soon, in a month or so, and then we will get to the stage of being sick of rain.”