Stories tagged: drought
New insights into the effects of drought and climate variability on Australian farms

AUSTRALIAN Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences’ (ABARES) latest Insights report provides analysis on the effects of climate variability on Australian cropping and…
Season over

BRIAN Mobbs owns and operates High Spa Angus, a breeding operation focused on diverse genetics and quality progeny. Last month, Brian sent 80 weaners to…
Rain across region needed now

“IT’S dry as chips.” So said Elders stock and station agent Ryan Sergeant late last month. Mr Sergeant was repeating the phrase that farmers across…
Be prepared

Prepare. That’s the lesson to be taken from the current season, according to farmers in the Shepparton region.
Drought hits tractor sales

TRACTOR sales slid four per cent overall for 2018 as the on-flow of drought conditions moved into machinery sales. Conservative sales saw the first year…
A season halved

FARMERS in Central Victoria have been granted a month’s grace following patchy rainfall in October. Producers within a 40-kilometre radius of Alexandra received between 20-40ml…
Make hay while the sun shines
DROUGHT is affecting many Australian farmers. From Queensland all the way down to Gippsland, the lack of rain is being felt across many regions and…
Saved from drought

BRUCE McCormack can still remember the day he shot 500 of his father-in-law’s sheep. The year was 1982, and the government provided bullets for free….
Preparing for dry spell

IF ever there was good advice during a dry spell, it’s ‘make a plan’. Veterinarian and local Mansfield beef producer, Dr Rod Manning, is urging…
Ongoing drought increases cattle slaughter numbers

ONGOING drought conditions, combined with a surge in female turn-off, has seen Australian cattle slaughter forecasts revised upwards to 7.8 million head for 2018, nine…
Australia chooses to de-stock

IT all depends on the weather. So often, this is the catch-cry statement from farmers, from livestock agents and from industry investors. But as winter…
Heat brings honey drought
AUSTRALIAN beekeepers are facing honey production losses of between 50 and 90 per cent following summer’s scorching heat, bushfires and drought, a leading producer says.