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The big dry: 'See us, hear us, help us'

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crooked_gambler View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote crooked_gambler Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2018 at 4:04pm
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PLEASE SHARE
How can I really help a farmer?
Buy a bale will last a day.
Do you really want to help, well go take a look at the drought affected towns. Load the kids, grab your partner and go take a look.You stay in a motel, eat some grub at the pub, dine in a cafe, fuel up in a small town and eat a pie. It will last longer than a buying a bale of hay.
All small towns employ farmers, their kids or partners. Buy a pie it will last longer and keeps a town alive. The worst thing you can see in a country town is when all the shops and services close down that support those on the land because there is no money to go around. It is really the last straw
Think hard about how you will donate. Go take a look, it will help so much. Is your car due for a service, well pick a town,ring and book it in. Take the drive,stay a night or two, eat at the pub, get a haircut, buy some clothes. That's the best donating you can make.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scamanda Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2018 at 4:19pm
That's all pretty spot on crooked_gambler. Thumbs Up
I started with nothing and still have most of it left
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2018 at 4:30pm
It's cruel to provide them with false hope.
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2018 at 4:34pm
Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

I said through no fault of their own, Doc.

How can a downturn in the housing market be the fault of the banks?

Just like climate (and everything else), the housing market is cyclical.

... so you are implying that if you chose to ignore history, you deserve to pay the price?

Agreed!Thumbs Up  
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2018 at 4:43pm
Originally posted by maccamax maccamax wrote:

Originally posted by Dr E Dr E wrote:

Great point judge - the downturn in the housing market and accordingly, mortgage lending, is hurting the banks - maybe we should give them a tax cut to ensure that they survive ...


Gees DOC your slipping ...   What about a collection for AGL energy ,

Posted a 1.5 billion profit yesterday .

There's no downturn in energy demand macca ... and no downturn in the greed of AGL.Pig

Disappointing that they couldn't turn 100% of the renewable subsidies into profits though ... too many bonuses to be paid to executives and donations to be paid to GetUp and the other political parties ... Dead 
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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stayer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stayer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2018 at 5:19pm
Not downplaying the issue, isaac, or having a go at you. Just sick of seeing the media suddenly constantly going on about saving the farmers, when it's been a problem for ages.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JudgeHolden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2018 at 7:30pm
Originally posted by Dr E Dr E wrote:

Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

I said through no fault of their own, Doc.


How can a downturn in the housing market be the fault of the banks?

Just like climate (and everything else), the housing market is cyclical.

... so you are implying that if you chose to ignore history, you deserve to pay the price?

Agreed!Thumbs Up  


Nothing at all to with lax lending practices...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2018 at 8:59pm
Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

Originally posted by Dr E Dr E wrote:

Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

I said through no fault of their own, Doc.


How can a downturn in the housing market be the fault of the banks?

Just like climate (and everything else), the housing market is cyclical.

... so you are implying that if you chose to ignore history, you deserve to pay the price?

Agreed!Thumbs Up  


Nothing at all to with lax lending practices...

No judge, nothing at all - don't believe what the FAKE NEWS says!

It's a "property cycle", lending practices and default rates are consistent with what they have been for about the past 30 years, and there is no evidence to suggest that they have ever impacted on the numerous property market cycles that we have experienced in that time ... if anything, the current decline is due to irrational tightening of policy as a reaction to the scrutiny from the RC - it's far harder to get money now than it should be.

... and that's regardless of what Bullgelati Bill and the left leaning media would like people to think ... the ALP/Greens understanding of economics is limited to knowing that it is easy to get support when you demonise Banks and Big Business, anyone earning $80k a year is rich, and any individual who attempts to invest personally, to avoid being a future welfare dependent, should be heavily taxed to the point that they never again aspire to anything so evil ... and that's it.

The main things that have affected the property cycles are of course supply and demand, and they are determined primarily by population growth, employment rates and interest rates.

The Banking RC has absolutely verified and validated what we already knew - that our finance and banking industry, with it's stringent regulation, checks and balances, is one of the most robust and ethical in the world - we knew that by the way we survived the GFC.

There are very few rogue operators in the industry, and there are a handful of their clients who "claim" to have been victims of unethical practices (many of them are simply victims of bad luck, or their own greed or stupidity). The incidences of poor or criminal lending practices are no more prevalent than similar indiscretions in any other industry, and in most cases the perpetrators have been caught and dealt with anyway.

It's like all of the drought events we have survived in the past 30-40 years (not to mention the 200 years before that!) - it's a cycle stupid!Wink
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 12:08am
Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

Gee Isaac, I didn’t give an opinion either way, just asked a question. Which, I note, you didn’t answer.

note away judge, its not worth an answer.

same as you cant give an opinion, either way.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JudgeHolden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 12:37am
Originally posted by Isaac soloman Isaac soloman wrote:

Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

Gee Isaac, I didn’t give an opinion either way, just asked a question. Which, I note, you didn’t answer.


note away judge, its not worth an answer.

same as you cant give an opinion, either way.


Or maybe to answer it is to expose you’re own hypocrisy.

Noted
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JudgeHolden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 12:38am
“Your”...sorry Whale, wherever you are.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JudgeHolden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 12:40am
Ah, fake news again. You like saying “cycle”, don’t you Doc?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JudgeHolden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 10:37am
Bit hard to call it fake news when the banks have admitted to it.

https://www.google.com.au/amp/amp.abc.net.au/article/9698776
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JudgeHolden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 10:41am
But don’t worry Doc. I’m sure these admissions are just a “ cycle”, and the banks will be back to lying their arses off sometime soon.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 11:26am
Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

Originally posted by Isaac soloman Isaac soloman wrote:

Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

Gee Isaac, I didn’t give an opinion either way, just asked a question. Which, I note, you didn’t answer.


note away judge, its not worth an answer.

same as you cant give an opinion, either way.


Or maybe to answer it is to expose you’re own hypocrisy.

Noted

hypocrisy in what? if i'm a hypocrite, coming from you, is the pot calling the kettle black.

that i dont have an opinion in/on everything? nah, too much of a mind f***. 

apart from yourself judge, and being a useless stirrer, what are your "pet" projects?

Heartening to see the response from the Australian community, as a whole. However, the theme of THIS thread has borne some at tbv to be otherwise, less than community minded. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JudgeHolden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 12:11pm
“Pet projects”??? What on earth are you dribbling about now?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 12:30pm
Many farmers dont want big handouts.  They just want help to be able to source and transport food and water to their stock, and a bit of a break with the endless bills and fees that go with that.  Shooting your animals isnt much fun.   I think some of the city experts are completely missing the point that fodder supplies are almost gone and its hard to get a few bales to feed the pet horse now,  not to mention how much its gone up in the last 12 months.  OMG I cant even begin to think what a semi load costs , and our area isnt half as bad as out west is.  And when there is a supply it has to be transported, and those trucks dont run on the smell of an oily rag.  The best hearted truckie still has to rego/insure/tyres/fuel his truck, and thats not cheap.  Its the basics that farmers need help with.  If kind hearted people see fit to throw in some extras for the wife and kids, thats good.
All the Uni experts etc that are making suggestions about it  just should get out there and have a look .  Just like you cant get blood from a stone, you cant click your fingers and get rain, and without water it all comes to a stop,  and this scene thats happening now doesnt just affect the farmer, it badly affects whole towns.  Many others will go to the wall without the farming families money coming it to their buisness.  The experts tell us we now have a popultion of 25 mill.  How do we propose to feed them without farms to grow the food for us ?

animals before people.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 12:31pm
Thought so, empty headed contributor is judge.LOL

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 2:27pm

Defying the drought: Farmers who have braced for the big dry

Marty McCarthy and Aneeta Bhole, Sunday August 12, 2018 - 10:47 EST

There is a drought spreading across eastern Australia and it is severe, but it is not our worst. At least not yet.



There are two major droughts which are stuck in the Australian psyche.

The 1895 to 1902 Federation Drought, during which the Darling and Murray Rivers ran dry. And the Millennium Drought, which ran from late 1996 to mid-2010 and severely affected most southern cropping areas.

In southern parts of Australia, droughts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries have been found to be the worst in the past 400 years, and experts predict they will become more prevalent in the future.

For some farmers, the millennium drought was a turning point, where they realised that if they wanted to keep farming in Australia, they needed to embrace rather than battle an often unpredictable climate.



Spending money when there is none

In NSW's Central West, farmers Laurie and John Chaffey have seen and read the stories about farmers in drought shooting starving livestock that they can't afford to feed.

The Chaffeys don't ever want to be in that position, and that meant being prepared for this drought, and future ones.

"We have never considered [culling], it's not something that we'd do, and it's not really a good outcome we feel for our industry at all," Ms Chaffey said.

They are reducing their cattle herd by half, and instead focusing on looking after their ewes, which is critical given they are all about to lamb.



Cash flow is low at the moment, but the Chaffey's are investing in building "drought lots", small pens where the mothers can give birth and still have access to plenty of food and water.

"You have got to have ewes in a good condition that they want to stay with the lamb and not toddle off where it's dropped," Mr Chaffey said.

"The lots will increase our lamb survival, so at the end we'll hopefully have a good lambing percentage, and we'll protect the ewes with good nutrition."

"It's our way of managing this drought, it's something we have been thinking about doing for a long time but have never done in our 40 years of farming," Mr Chaffey said.

Keeping all their sheep in drought lots, rather than in the paddocks, means the pasture will grow back faster when it rains.

It also means the Chaffeys don't have to sell as much stock, which will help them bounce back quicker when the drought breaks. Their sheep stocking rate is high, despite the drought, at 80 per cent.



The Chaffeys' livestock nutritionist, Nikki Henderson, says she wants to see more farmers in drought affected areas plan ahead, to avoid having animals starving in paddocks.

"This is definitely [an] uncommon thing for this area but it's great what the Chaffeys are doing. I've spent a lot of time in Victoria and South Australia and other areas and I see a lot more people setting up this sort of drought lotting infrastructure for lambing and drought feeding," she said.

In addition to the new drought lots, the Chaffeys also have two sheds full of hay, and three years ago installed silos to store grain, as well as grain they wrapped in plastic and buried 20 years ago.

"Every drought is different and it is all about compromise and adjustment, the further you get the further you need to think about how you can prepare next," Mr Chaffey said.



Ms Henderson, who has clients all through the Central West, said many people are still holding out for rain, rather than putting a long-term feeding strategy in place.

"There are people out there that I'm going to see who you set up with plans and talk about costs to feed through calving and they are still sitting back waiting and not planning ahead far enough to budget those feeds," she said.

Heidi Austin, a district vet with North West Local Land Services, said it can be difficult for farmers faced with the stress and pressure of drought to forward plan. They are just trying to get by day to day.

"I don't know how people are making decisions but they have to make decisions and often they are really hard decisions to make about what to sell, what to buy, when to keep going, when to stop, and seeking out options for when they stop," she said.

"They are feeding animals and it's hard work and physically hard, and my heart just goes out to people in trouble who have animals in trouble from these situations.

"You see it in their eyes, they are doing their hardest to do the right thing and whatever they are doing does not come with a good outcome."

On the positive side of the climate

Some farmers have been through droughts before and know that feeling well. They are desperate to avoid it this time around.

"The main reason we did what we did in our business and as a family was to never ever feel that feeling of hopelessness," Yeoval sheep producer Nigel Kerin said.

After the millennium drought, Mr Kerin decided to modify his business, to take advantage of unpredictable climates and rainfall patterns.

"What we learnt from the droughts in the 1980s and 2000s is that if you flog the living daylights out of your landscape while you are in a dry period, the grass you grow once you come back into average rainfall is bugger all," he said.



He lets his pastures rest by reducing most of his livestock. Currently he only has 20 per cent of his usual herd.

Instead, he "flogs it" when it rains. That doesn't necessarily mean waiting for autumn or winter. It means waiting for rainfall, regardless of what time of year it comes.

"You don't try to make money when it's dry, you set yourself up for when the dry breaks," Mr Kerin said.

Mr Kerin has built this business model around the concept of climate variability, which from a rainfall perspective, refers to how rainfall totals fluctuate above or below the long-term average over time.

Simply put, it means he doesn't expect a certain amount of rain at a certain time of year anymore.

"If it is a drought it's been going for a while. So I don't think it's a drought. I think it's climate variability. It's influxes of rain then extensive periods without it," he said.

"It seems that with climate variability in this district "” and the east coast of Australia "” that we get massive dumps of rain that last for one month, then it takes off and leaves us for four or five months at a time.

"If you can build a business model that fits with climate variability, and matching stocking rate to carrying capacity, you are setting yourself up to be on the positive side of this climate and not on the negative."

Mr Kerin also breeds a type of faster maturing sheep, which means he can grow more animals in a shorter time, to take advantage of any sudden rainfall whenever he gets it.

"They can reproduce at a younger age and it also allows us to sell the wether lambs quicker than what we used to," he said.



"The animals put on weight quicker, which if you've matched stocking rate to capacity, means you've got them at a saleable weight a lot quicker, before the season turns on you again."

As state and federal governments tinker away on policies to encourage farmers to prepare for drought, Mr Kerin says the push should come from farmers themselves.

"It's not so much about what governments can do. It's about if you want to change, if the need for change inside of you is enough to make you want to build a better future," he said.

"The adaption part. You have to tip out everything you know and re-establish a new paradigm of how to do business."

Grass growth and green days

Grazier Ardie Lord from Sutherland Station in north west Queensland doesn't like to use the word drought, even though he's technically been in one for five years.

This year he's only had half his annual rainfall - which he refers to as a "light year" - but he looks for the positives in it.



Mr Lord uses grazing charts to plan 12 months in advance. If he doesn't think he has enough grass to feed his current herd through to the next wet season, he begins to destock.

"The upside of a light year is production is higher [than a dry year] and weight gain per kilogram is higher, you've just got to run less animals," he said.

Currently, he's running around 40 per cent of his usual stock, and says that is "very fortunate" compared to many in north west Queensland. Some have destocked completely.

Critical to his forward planning is making sure he has enough pasture to feed his cattle until the next "green date". It is the date most likely to bring the next amount of decent rainfall "” for Sutherland Station that is around February. It is based on historical records when there is an 80 per cent chance of the wet season starting.

"The first job we have each year is to make sure we're going to see through to the next green date, and adjust our stocking rate to our current capacity accordingly," he said.



The stress during drought often comes from trying to maintain a large herd size, even if they don't have the pasture to feed it.

"If we are having a light year and we're running the appropriate amount of animals it's pretty stress-free," Mr Lord said.

He cautioned farmers against letting their livestock get skinny, to a point they can't be sold.

"It's risky because that's our cashflow and that's our future, so if the animals are losing weight it means we're losing cashflow," he said.

"If we have got the courage to sell them before they get skinny, it's much better to put the money in the bank than hold it.

"As long as they are healthy and can be trucked then there's good value in them."

Carbon farmers capitalise on climate

There's a new category of farming that is helping a lucky few defy the drought in a unique way.

Rather than relying on cattle and sheep for an income, Bourke farmer Michael Marshman makes money off letting trees grow. He's a carbon farmer.



"Trees are fairly resilient so they continue to grow even when rainfall is deficient, but with livestock we all know once it gets dry the money also dries up," Mr Marshman said.

Carbon farming for Mr Marshman means letting mulga regrow in paddocks where grass once did, and sheep used to graze. He can keep the cattle, because they don't pose a threat to the mulga.



The mulga stores carbon, and the Federal Government buys that storage space off him, through the Clean Energy Regulator, in a bid to reduce Australia's overall greenhouse gas emissions.

"I would hate to think what sort of position we'd be in if we didn't have the regular income stream from the carbon farming," Mr Marshman said.



Geoff Dunstan, a grazier from Cunnamulla in Queensland, who has also turned to carbon farming, agrees.

"In a drought you're usually going backwards financially and rapidly working flat out, but at least being in the carbon trade you've got income coming in over that bad period," Mr Dunstan said.

"It is hundreds of thousands of dollars we would not be making in a drought, so it's a real positive in a drought situation."

Not every farmer can go into carbon farming "” it only works with certain vegetation types.

Mr Marshman is re-investing the carbon farming money into other agriculture projects, to help make his business more drought tolerant.

He has bought a small property north of Bourke on the Darling River, where there is a reliable water supply.



"We've moved a percentage of our cattle there to feed them, it's a lot easier to manage a smaller acreage when feeding livestock," Mr Marshman said.

He's also bought a third property at Narromine in NSW "” it is insurance against drought, but also any potential collapse in the carbon farming sector.

"We have a property in a higher rainfall area now, and when it's dry here we can move livestock there, and we have gone for more livestock properties so we aren't just reliant on the carbon farming," he said.

"You never know when the next drought will hit you, so be prepared, invest in infrastructure that helps you be a bit more resilient in dry times that are not expected."

You can see the story on Landline on ABC TV at 12:30pm or on iview.


- ABC

© ABC 2018

Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 2:28pm

Why does Australia waste its recycled water when it could be used to irrigate food crops?

Jess Davis, Saturday August 11, 2018 - 11:15 EST


Vegetable grower Marco Mason started using recycled water during the Millennium drought in the early 2000s, when his farm at Werribee west of Melbourne ran out of water.

"We liked the idea of recycled water but at the same time we had no choice, we had the choice of not signing up to recycled water and having to stop planting," he said.

When the drought was over, Mr Mason said he was still reliant on that water.

"I was adamant after the first drought period that we wouldn't need recycled water at all," he said.

"And I was wrong.

"The drought continues, the shortage of rain continues, the weir does not fill up, so we're reliant on recycled water."



A better use?

Research from the University of Melbourne's Foodprint project found that 84 per cent of Melbourne's recycled water was pumped out to sea.

Mr Mason said that water should be used for more schemes like the one at Werribee.

"It's available, it's there, it's only a matter of investing money towards it," he said.

"Does that mean that the government invests that money? Yeah I think the government should be investing money."

On the other side of Melbourne, on the Mornington Peninsula, avocado grower Steven Marshall said he is desperate to get his hands on recycled water.



"It might look green, this season we've had a little bit of rain but our dams still aren't filling," he said.

"We're going to be going right down to the nail."

Just down the road, a pipeline from the Melbourne Water's Eastern Treatment plant is pumping 350 million litres of Class A recycled water out to sea every day.

That quality of water is good enough to irrigate Mr Marshall's crops.

"That's just not being used "” mostly because it can't be seen," Mr Marshall said.

"It's in an underground pipeline "” and if people could see it I reckon it would have got used by now."

Mr Marshall was working with the local council to get a project off the ground that would see that water delivered to farmers.



Mornington Shire Mayor Bryan Payne said it is a disgrace to be wasting so much usable water.

"What we want to do is distribute it across the whole peninsula so we can drought proof the place, we can use it for higher agriculture," he said.

"It should be a bi-partisan type exercise, it's a no-brainer, both Federal and State Governments should fund it to get the infrastructure, to get it up."

That is already happening in South Australia where the Virginia Pipeline Scheme, north of Adelaide had the biggest recycled water program in the country.

It was set up in 1999 and is set for a major expansion with both state and federal funding.

Too expensive

Anne-Maree Boland, an agricultural and environmental consultant, said that recycled water schemes do not often get over the line because they are too expensive.

"One of the problems is you need to move it from where its produced which is often in major cities, to where the agriculture is," Dr Boland said.

"So peri-urban agriculture is a really good use of recycled water but it needs to be moved to those areas."

Funding for pipelines is needed to transport this water, but it comes at a high price, including the cost of electricity used to move it.



The closer farmland is to a city, the cheaper it will be.

Feasibility studies are currently underway in Sydney and on the Darling Downs in Queensland but Dr Boland said business plans do not take into account less tangible benefits.

"We don't consider some of the other benefits such as environmental benefits and the fact we're freeing up another water source," she said.

And Dr Boland said there tended to be a lot of interest in recycled water when we are in the grips of drought, but it is often forgotten later once the rains come.

"But we should be really thinking about the future and drought proofing ourselves," she said.

"So looking at the best sources of water for different purposes."


- ABC

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 2:56pm
One thing about this drought.  Back in the early 1980's we were on a property bought in the hunter valley to supply fodder to two properties out Mudgee way which were is a pretty bad way with no water.  It was a drought in the hunter but with irrigation from the river the small place feed the other two until the drought broke and they sold the place.  This time the hunter is dry - much dryer that that drought.  

We were in the hunter before the mines appeared.  This was back in the day of dairies and horses and grapes vineyards (on a smaller area than today).  I don't know but have the mines actually made it worst because of all the water they also need?  Has a study been done into how the two practices can live better with each other without injuring the land and it's ability to jump back from the floods and droughts which affect us.  Because this drought will break and when it does it will be a flood which will wash away any topsoil which the wind hasn't in the mean time.  

Also yes farmers have to move with the times.  But to make ends meet dairies have had to expand due to the less money for milk etc.  Or do what relatives have done and gone into more butterfat production.  In times of drought they can't just get rid of their herds.  Most dairies are on pretty good viable land - they have to be for get the milk production.  But even so the whole state is effected one way or another and yes feed is getting short even from other states which are not effected by drought at this present time.  They have to also put aside some of what they are producing for the lean times which will come their way.

So with all the good will in the world until we can sort out water problems to any area in Australia where agriculture is practiced this cycle will not stop.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scamanda Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:13pm
One way that many graziers have turned to after being advised by their DPI is to instal fodder factories.
Using mainly barley for fodder matts is very productive if used right.
But, with so much of the southern states already affected by the drought the fodder factories can't access enough barley for the stock.

The larger buyers like feedlots get first option because they buy the most and are therefore the growers preferred customer.

Lots of money invested (presumably wisely at first) and then the grazier is left with no grain and less money to buy other sources of feed.

I saw one load turn up yesterday. The first one in 6 months. No idea where from though. It must be raining somewhere.
I started with nothing and still have most of it left
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:15pm
Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

Ah, fake news again. You like saying “cycle”, don’t you Doc?

Just trying to educate you and the other morons judge - if you don't understand cycles, and you keep ignoring history, you will never understand anything.Dead 
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scamanda Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:16pm
The idea of keeping your stock in smaller paddocks for feeding and thereby relieving the pressure on the man grazing pastures is not a new idea. It was first used when I was in high school, and I'm now retired.

The biggest drawback was that if for instance you kept your ewes for lambing in smaller compounds you got the following:
1. The pasture was rested. Big tick.
2. The grazier doesn't have to cover as much ground when feeding. Big tick.
3. Sheep droppings became a problem because the sheep had nowhere clean to lay down or to lamb. Big X.
4. In order to keep some areas clean enough the amount of time and money to remove the droppings made it less attractive. Big X.
5. With that amount of manure and urine to deal with it became less clean and therefore more likely to nurture parasites and germs. Big X.

Feedlots with cattle get around it because they don't breed.
They seem to be doing ok, looking from the outside that is.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scamanda Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:28pm
Out west where the rainfall is always low the farmers and graziers haven't been sitting back on their hands as much as some people would have us believe.

Lazer leveling paddocks for pasture in areas that get low rainfall means there is less runoff. It's been happening now for a decade or so, maybe even longer for all I know.
And it isn't cheap.
This is being done with the floodplains as well. Using natural grasses which are more suited to the Australian outback environment the paddocks are producing much better yields. Unfortunately the really bad droughts are the ones that have seen no reasonable rise in river heights because of lucrative water allocations (Yes there it is again). Without the floodwater these paddocks don't get the soaking they used to get.

It's not like the farmers just sit back and wait for rain while shooting their stock.
They are on an endless hunt for new dryland farming practices that will bring in a dollar without having to rely on handouts.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:39pm
Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

Bit hard to call it fake news when the banks have admitted to it.

https://www.google.com.au/amp/amp.abc.net.au/article/9698776

Banking royal commission: Lax lending by banks could see our debt problem come crashing down

 

MORE FAKE NEWS? Thanks judge!Clap

Hahahaha! ... are you seriously relying on the ABC for economic "opinions" (that's all this is)? ... you do recall them sacking "Emma the Pretend Economics Editor" because of her lack of basic economic knowledge? ... you seem to have obtained your own knowledge from the same Corn Flakes packet as she did!LOL

BTW, if you actually bothered to read that article, can you tell me WHO said or even implied that there was an imminent debt problem? ... you should recognise the bankers statements as simple deflection 101, straight out of CNNPT's play book.Embarrassed

You would do well to just put this "The Sky is Falling!!!" headline, alongside all of the other politically motivated crap the ABC comes up with ... opinions that are constantly disproved, or simply never eventuate, shall we ... Wink

 
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:40pm
Also so much of the media bringing attention to the plight of the land being a tad late.  It's better late than never.  At least they have the power to get people aware who never ever step out of the city - so they just don't know.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:41pm
crooked gambler we did the same sort of thing after the last big fires through the mountains.  The tourists stopped coming and businesses were hurting so we'd go up for a night and do some shopping and eating in different towns.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:43pm
Originally posted by JudgeHolden JudgeHolden wrote:

But don’t worry Doc. I’m sure these admissions are just a “ cycle”, and the banks will be back to lying their arses off sometime soon.

Good! You're catching on judge!Clap 

... that's very satisfying for me, and justifies my perseverance with you!!Thumbs Up
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:47pm
... funny how these cycles and outcomes repeat themselves isn't it judge ... we see the same thing after the Unions RC ... they were all circumspect and promised vigilant compliance to the laws of the land ... didn't take them long to return to their criminal conduct, did it! ... it's a cycle stoopid!Big smile
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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