Farmers in Victoria are in the middle of an unfolding drought crisis, with the state government urged to take action as families are left in “despair”.
Metcalfe-based sheep producer Duncan Barber said this drought was the worst he’d seen in 40 years in the area.
He said so far they’d had just 40ml of rain for the year.
“Our last good rain was in November last year,” he said.
The family farm’s sheep flock was devouring about 50 tonnes of barley a fortnight, with paddocks ground down to dust.
And ewes were struggling to birth lambs, with many newborns just abandoned by the battling mothers.
“We really need recognition most,” Barber told Today.
“We really need the government to stand up and say, yes, Victoria is in a drought.
“And if they do declare it, then they’re going to have to do something about it. They are going to have to have to help us.”
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Barber said the current drought was worse than the brutal disaster that hit Australian agriculture around the turn of the millennium.
“This is the first time that we’ve actually run out of drinking water,” he said.
“You know, it’s a hard thing to say.”
He said he was committed to keep his family farm going.
“I mean, they keep telling us, ‘yes, it’s going to rain’. ‘It’s going to rain next week’,” he said.
“But unfortunately, for the last six months, next week hasn’t happened.”
