The plight of farmers in ravished Australia

Multitude’ of problems 

confronting farmers causing 

‘incredible desperation’

Sky News

This year has been challenging and difficult for many people but none more so than farmers who are trying to rebuild after the worst drought on record, devastating bushfires and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Frontier Services National Director Jannine Jackson told Sky News farmers were struggling financially and emotionally and “giving up”.

“Northern NSW has had some rain, but some of it’s just not enough, we’ve just had farmers in northern NSW who’ve managed to get some crop in which got damaged by the hail,” she said. 

“We’ve got farmers in Queensland who are unable to get parts due to COVID.

“We’ve got people that are actually struggling to do harvests because they can’t get the labour.”

Ms Jackson said there was “incredible desperation” among farmers.

“It almost feels like it’s just one after another,” she said.

“What’s really heartbreaking for farmers is if you can imagine having seven to eight years of drought then having enough rain to actually get a decent harvest then actually not being able to get the harvest off.

“This is going to impact us in terms of our ability to get good fruit and veg, good meat, this isn’t just the farmers.”

Is this true?

The Australian government took all the fund raising money for farmers

This is dismissed HERE

Regions dry up fast in New Zealand

Everyone bellyaches about there being “no summer” ( would they prefer to cross the Tasman?). Now, it appears to be setting in.

NZ Farmers, wildlife and residents alike face water shortages as regions dry up fast

NZ Herald,

21 January, 2020

Councils in affected areas are assembling dry-weather crews, farmers are now giving extra feed to stock, and Northland kiwi birds are now struggling to feed on hard-baked soil, where the dry weather has lingered longer than usual.

Dairy farmer and kiwi conservationist Jane Hutchings said in her 30 years in the area, summer is either saturated by cyclones, or parched dry.

Right now it is the latter, and the kiwi population is struggling.

"Parts of Northland they're really struggling with how hard the ground is, so the young birds - they physically can't probe the ground for bugs, which go deeper if it's dry.

"So we're getting a few kiwis turning up either dehydrated, hungry or starving."

Kiwis get most of their water from what they eat.

Hutchings said in some areas they were beginning to drown in water troughs and ponds they're trying to drink from, and can't get out of.

She said land owners were now being advised to keep a look out for thirsty kiwis.

"If you've got water containers out, make sure you've got something in them, so if a kiwi got in, it can get out."

Hutchings suggested a few stones or bricks the birds could use as steps.

Federated Farmers Northland president John Blackwell said annual rainfall in the area is a lot lower than normal, and while it is not the worst dry season he has seen in Northland, the reality of an official drought looms.

"The Rural Support Trust, I'm involved with that and we've all emailed in the situation from different areas. They (support trust) are getting prepared for it, if there is a drought because they're the ones who get the minister up to declare one, so the wheels are in motion towards that," Blackwell said.

Federated Farmers Auckland president Alan Cole said it was shaping up to be the driest summer in three decades. He said it has been an emerging pattern, and water supply was going to be a major challenge for local authorities.

Cole said water for his area came from an already fully subscribed Waikato River. He said it was going to be hard balancing the needs of population growth, against those who need water to grow food.

"Yeah, it is a concern in our area here, especially for market gardening and Auckland's population is expecting another million people at some stage.

"It's a real concern because we need water to grow food."

Government climate data shows that between 1960 and 2016, rainfall levels have decreased continuously in the northern and central North Island at Kerikeri, Whangārei, Tauranga, Taupō and Rotorua.

Water restrictions have now been imposed in parts of Waikato, on irrigators in mid Canterbury and in Tasman, its dry-weather taskforce is to meet today to discuss restrictions.

Dennis Bush-King from the taskforce said the recent dry, windy conditions were set to worsen with no decent rain in the forecast for the next two weeks.

"The river levels of the Waimea have sort of got to a point where we need to start having a conversation about when restrictions will come into place, so we're at that point where we may need to move to Stage one restrictions, which is a 20 percent cut."

Bush-King said that will apply to consent holders, such as irrigators, while householders will face restrictions on watering gardens.

He said it was not unusual for the time of year, and the dry weather is even later than normal.

Waikato Federated Farmers president Andrew McGiven said the heat and wind was beginning to take its toll, but he was not yet hearing of anyone in trouble over it.

"We are certainly starting to brown off quite quickly now, especially with the winds we had about 10 days ago, and now we're starting to get these 30C days, so it's not going to take too long before we start getting into a very dry situation."

North Otago farmers say it is pretty typical where they are - rain before Christmas and hot weather now, while in mid-Canterbury they no longer know what a normal summer is because the weather has become so erratic .

No rain for the rest of the month in New Zealand

Your weather: 'No rain at all' 
for rest of November for 
much of NZ

NZ Herald,
21 November, 2019

It's set to be a very hot, dry end to November with some areas due for no rain at all before December 1.


Some regions will see highs 10C above average, particularly inland and eastern areas, forecaster Weatherwatch says.


Tonight and tomorrow morning could still be a little cool before the temperature soars, with this weekend and next week likely to see highs in the late 20Cs or possibly 30C in some regions.


The entire North Island will be dry for the next seven days as will much of the South Island, Weatherwatch said, thanks to a high pressure system.

Southland, Otago and Taranaki could see a shower or two while the West Coast would have some rainy days.


Head forecaster Philip Duncan said there were parts of the country that would receive 0mm for the remainder of the month.

Southland, Otago and Taranaki could see a shower or two while the West Coast would have some rainy days.


"Places like Nelson, Marlborough and Northland may receive no rain at all, not even a shower, for the rest of the month. Other regions like Waikato, Auckland, and Wairarapa may get 0.2 to 1mm".

Head forecaster Philip Duncan said there were parts of the country that would receive 0mm for the remainder of the month."Places like Nelson, Marlborough and Northland may receive no rain at all, not even a shower, for the rest of the month. Other regions like Waikato, Auckland, and Wairarapa may get 0.2 to 1mm".

WeatherWatch.co.nz

✔@WeatherWatchNZ

#BreakingNews: Hail as big as golfballs pummels #Timaru (+Pics & Videos) https://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/content/hail-big-golfballs-pummels-timaru-pics-videos … via @weatherwatchnz #weather #NewZealand

Hail as big as golfballs pummels Timaru (+Pics & Videos)

BREAKING NEWS --- Dramatic downpours are passing over Timaru and Oamaru right now and one downpour a short time ago blanketed Timaru in thick and heavy hail. WeatherWatch.co.nz has received confirmed

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Remote inland areas in both islands would be verging on heatwave criteria, with at least four days coming where the temperature was 5C+ above normal, the forecaster said. Five days in a row is the technical definition of a heatwave.

It's a far cry from the thunderstorms, lightning and hail that smashed parts of the South Island yesterday.

Golfball-sized hail chunks reportedly broke windows and damaged roofs around midday on Wednesday, while on Monday a tornado ripped through Christchurch CBD, injuring two people.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/11/weather-dry-high-temperatures-pushing-towards-heatwave-for-end-of-november.html?fbclid=IwAR0wK_KBeK4MIjYJ1HQ46VGWHl2RIt48LmRQJyvOIdFibsMn7gQkYTXRoEo

Conditions in the Tasman Sea are the mildest I've seen in a while.

A crippling drought in Zimbabwe

A crippling drought which 

has brought millions of 

people in Zimbabwe facing 

the risk of starvation has 

killed 55 elephants in the last 

8 weeks

The Big Wobble,

22 October, 2019

A crippling drought which is said to have brought millions of people in Zimbabwe facing the risk of starvation has reduced crop levels as the country slides into an ongoing economic crisis which is said to be much worse than during the Mugabe period which saw the cost of an egg rise to 100 billion Zimbabwe Dollars.

The drought is affecting wildlife too, at least 55 elephants have starved to death in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park over the past two months amid a severe drought. "The situation is dire," Zimparks spokesman Tinashe Farawo said. "The elephants are dying from starvation and this is a big problem." The drought has massively reduced crop levels in Zimbabwe.

According to a report by the BBC, a third of the population is reportedly in need of food aid in the midst of. In August, a World Food Programme report said two million people were at risk of starvation in the country.

Some of the elephants were reportedly found within 50 metres (yards) of water pans - suggesting they had travelled far and died just before reaching them. The elephants have caused "massive destruction" of vegetation in Hwange, Mr Farawo said. The park can handle about 15,000 elephants but currently has more than 50,000. Zimparks - which does not get government funding - has been trying to drill wells but lacks the money to continue, Mr Farawo added. Their bodies have been spotted at empty watering holes - at least 55 dead elephants in the past two months alone, the victims of a devastating drought that is now threatening the lives of humans and wildlife alike.

In Zimbabwe's giant Hwange National Park the problem is not just a lack of rain, but far too many elephants. Overcrowding has prompted the animals to stray outside the park to hunt for food. In the process, officials say, they have already killed 22 local villagers this year. And behind all this lurks the issue of money. Zimbabwe's economic crisis means no funds to manage wildlife properly.