Victorian farmers battle one of worst drought in years

VICTORIAN farmers are ­battling through one of the worst droughts in years, with lack of rain causing dams to run dry in the state’s central north.

No water in the dams but Finn and Forest make do near Maldon in Central Victoria..Picture:Rob Leeson.

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VICTORIAN farmers are ­battling through one of the worst droughts in years.

Lack of rain has caused dams to run dry in the state’s central north, threatening livestock and crops.

Some farmers are millions of dollars in debt after two failed harvests in a row.

Water minister Lisa Neville said water storage levels in some parts were lower than in the millennium drought, and noted: “The drought for many communities never ended.” The state has had below-average rainfall since July 2014.

The State Government has put up a $27 million bailout package, but it’s unlikely to meet all the demand.

Wedderburn, Charlton, Wycheproof and Donald are among areas hardest hit.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said: “About 70 per cent of farms in those areas would be affected by low rainfall.”

“Certainly some farms will be losing millions. Some farms will be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Mr Tuohey said some farmers were borrowing against their assets to keep going.

“But a lot of farmers have low equity and very little income and they are at a point where they are running out of options,” he said.

Charlton farmer Peter Whykes said the last two years had been financially disastrous. “We’ve had a few crop disasters ... 2014 was a bad year. If you have one bad year you can manage that, because it picks up the next year.

“We expected to do better in 2015 and there was another wipe out.

“We just live in hope.”

The wheat and sheep farmer of 65 years said the ripples of drought were felt in the Charlton community.

“It affects the whole community, the traders won’t be seeing any money turning over,” he said.

Mr Tuohey said local sporting clubs would also feel the impact.

“When there is no money in farming, there is no money going into the rest of the town,” he said.

The state government has rolled out a $27 million drought response package for affected farmers, with $17 million released immediately.

Premier Daniel Andrews toured drought-affected areas this week to see the problems.

A government spokesman confirmed: “The Andrews Labor ­government is responding to these conditions with a comprehensive drought package totalling $27.3 million.”

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