To be anxious about the implications of this drought situation?

[RedDwarves]

I live in a state of Australia which is now classified as being in drought - the area I live in is in "severe drought", having received less than two weeks total worth of rain since March 2017. We are in crisis, and I don't see any end in sight.

I live in a rural area and know many farmers, some of whom say that this is the worst that they have ever seen. We are rapidly chewing through supplies to feed stock, and because of Australia's fragile ecosystem, simply importing from other countries isn't an easy option. Knowing that farmers are already at increased risk of depression and mental health problems - when times are good - I feel desperately helpless about the current situation.

I'm not sure why I'm posting here. I look around and see nothing but barren grounds - no sign of green anywhere. Rivers and dams are almost dry, stock is rapidly decreasing because farmers are having to sell of their livelihood etc. It's seriously grim.

It's always been like this in Australia. And farmers (or the big corporations) keep practising unsustainable farming (large scale land clearing, cattle which destroy top soil etc) which intensifies the problems when the dry seasons kick in.

It hasn't always been like this. Yes we have had droughts and yes many farmers are not helping the problem. Its not surprising that cotton is called water farming more than cotton farming. However this drought while bad doesn't seem to be as bad as what we went through in the mid 90's. We had no water and were having to buy drinking water. I don't think I had a daily shower (we showered every second day and only for two minutes) for months. I do think that we need to look into more sustainable farming practices but right now I think just providing feed and water for the animals is what we should concentrate on. Luckily it isn't too bad where I am but it is dry and you can tell by the number of roos dead on the highway. They are searching for food. Im concerned about bushfires this summer. It is so dry.

Yeah, bushfire risk is my (cityslicker) concern too. I'm first generation raised off farms (in Australia) and have seen some horrible droughts through work in Queensland. It's very dry and very sad for all those families losing their animals.

It's always been like this in Australia

No, it hasn't. I live in a dry area, but it has only been this bad twice before - once during the millennium drought, and once in the late 1980s when the rivers were so low that trout were dying in huge quantities, and the man-made lake here which flooded the old town was so low that you could see the roofs and chimneys of the houses under it.

We also have had bushfires - the first in 2003 and the second in 2007.

There is an element of unsustainable farming (cotton, rice) and I think that we, as a nation, need to have a serious conversation about the place of that farming in an Australia which is going to face increasingly more frequent, and increasingly longer, drought periods.

Our rainwater tank is empty - it’s used by the RFS to top up supplies if there’s a fire in the area so it’s a big problem that it’s empty. Luckily the RFS are coming to fill it up this week.

We’ve had 140mm of rain in the past 3 months and only 1.2mm last month (and that was over 5 days). With significantly below average rainfall and significantly above average temperatures things are frightening.

The farmland at the bottom of my garden is just dirt and I know the farmer was shooting cattle earlier in the week as we could hear the gunshots.

As a family we’re doing everything we can, we donate weekly to the buy a bale campaign, buy milk/cheese from local farmers, donate to the food drives for the farmers families and ate so much at the bunnings sausage sizzle on Friday I don’t want to eat another sausage all month but it still doesn’t feel like we’re doing enough.

I’m dreading the bushfire season as everywhere is so dry.

As a family we’re doing everything we can, we donate weekly to the buy a bale campaign, buy milk/cheese from local farmers, donate to the food drives for the farmers families and ate so much at the bunnings sausage sizzle on Friday I don’t want to eat another sausage all month but it still doesn’t feel like we’re doing enough.

This is exactly how I feel. No matter how much money we do, we cannot make it rain and cannot fix this situation.

Rice farming in australia?

Seems a bad idea to begin with.

I might start a banana farm in north siberia and then ask for public donations because my crop failed due to lack of good banana weather

surely if animal feed is one of the main causes people should cut down or give up meat / dairy / animal products? Its one of the worst offenders as far as water usage go and negative environmental implications.

I might start a banana farm in north siberia and then ask for public donations because my crop failed due to lack of good banana weather

To be fair, I have not seen or heard of many farmers asking for donations. In fact, many are too proud to accept the assistance being provided. Also, we're talking primarily about meat, dairy and wool farmers here.

flao What do you propose these people do for jobs instead? This is their livelihood. Funnily enough, going vegan or vegetarian does not solve every problem.

I'm not saying it's the only solution but it would definitely help prevent worsening of the situation and a more sustainable solution should the scenario persist. Sadly I think it's unlikely people will actually do it. That said Jobs that are currently geared around animal production could move to crop production instead. Veganism goes a long way towards helping prevent environmental disasters and global warming....

A few facts:

Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. (vs 13% transport)

Methane is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 on a 20 year time frame.

Methane has a global warming potential 86 times that of CO2 on a 20 year time frame.

Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years

Emissions for agriculture projected to increase 80% by 2050.

Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually.

Growing feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US.

Californians use 1500 gallons of water per person per day. Close to Half is associated with meat and dairy products.

2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.

5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture. [xv]

That said Jobs that are currently geared around animal production could move to crop production instead.

That's all fine and dandy, but beef and wool ("riding on the sheep's back") are two of Australia's biggest agricultural exports. I have to assume that you are not Australian if you don't understand that this simply isn't an option. Even a small negative fluctuation in this industry has a huge flow-on impact to the economy, employment etc.

I don't personally have a solution - but the economy needs to adapt. How I don't know. I am not an economist or jobs expert.

If you're doing more of the exact things that make the situation worse (in fact the things that are the biggest causes of climate change, and animal husbandry is the largest consumer of water), what will happen? Continue doing it? Make it worse and stick your head in the sand?

but the economy needs to adapt

Do you have this same attitude about Brexit, assuming you are British?

what's brexit got to do with it? irrelevant.

don't you think that doing things that make it worse, and cause it should be addressed? e.g. the root cause?

what's brexit got to do with it? irrelevant.

Not if your attitude is that we should just allow economies to collapse, because they need to adapt to whatever situation we willingly put them in. I would hope you apply that attitude to all economies.

I think cotton and rice farming need to be discussed. I think it's idiotic beyond words to suggest that we should do away with our two largest agricultural exports.

I think its idiotic to suggest you keep doing the two main things that cause global warming and drought and it will only get WORSE if we keep doing it. Let's stick our heads in the sand though.

I highly doubt that people will change their attitude so don't worry the farmers will keep feeding their livestock and using up 55% of the water in the process.... then have a more difficult situation in the future to deal with....

*main things, not two main things

Righto, pop on off to another thread to spread your agenda. I'm sure you've realised you're getting nowhere here.

maybe not with you red, but maybe other people might be educated a little.

by telling me to bugger off you've just exposed your reluctance to debate and the holes in your argument?

If your community if farming cotton then you have no one but yourselves to blame. Cotton is very thirty for whatever and depletes the soil of nutrients. Its most likely the case that the drought is no worse than any other drought but because you have been farming cotton you have been depleting your water reserves so that this drought had tipped you over the edge. While I have every respect and sympathy for farmers in general, growing cotton year after year is incredibly, incredibly stupid.

I wasn't here to debate in the first place. You've hopped onto a thread to spout your vegan agenda. You've displayed absolute ignorance about the situation Australia is in, the situation it is facing, its culture and its economy. I am not the uneducated one here.

So yes, please do rack off.

Racecar Um yes, you'll notice I have already acknowledged that, as have others. We're not talking about cotton farmers, as our sympathy does not lie with them.

I would suggest you read up on the situation in Uzbekistan (huge cotton farming industry during the soviet years). If you continue farming cotton in sustainably that is what will happen to you.

You are moaning about a drought that in a sense is man made. You have every right to hold cotton farmers to account. It's hugely irresponsible and selfish to farm that way.