Each fortnight, sheep farmer Duncan Barber spreads up to 50 tonnes of barley feed across his farm to save his animals from starving. Usually, the sheep on his large property would be nourishing themselves on the pasture growing across the land near Redesdale, not far from Bendigo.
For months, though, Barber and many other farmers have been struggling through what he calls the “forgotten drought”.
“In a lot of the paddocks, it is down to bare earth,” he said.
Duncan Barber on his property near Redesdale.Credit: Alex Coppel
The barley costs $354 a tonne – a hefty financial burden for his farming business. But it’s the pain of watching his paddocks strewn with deserted lambs that he finds almost unbearable.
Barber’s voice cracks, and he fights back tears while describing how ewes have become so hungry they abandon their lambs and charge towards him searching for food whenever he enters the paddocks.
“Unfortunately, because there is absolutely nothing in the paddocks, as soon as they see you they just run straight to you, and they’re leaving their lambs,” he said. “It’s a plight you’ve got to toughen yourself to and not look back. Otherwise, you’ll be hand-feeding hundreds of lambs.”
Typically, up to 95 per cent of Barber’s ewes will have lambs, but this year he expects that will be down to about 40 per cent due to the drought. Barber said he had brought in three lambs for hand-feeding, but could not save them all.
Parts of south-west Victoria have experienced their driest period on record. Barber, whose farm is in central Victoria, fears the dry conditions could become worse than the millennium drought that ran for nearly two decades until 2009. He says farmers will need support to cope with the emotional burden of such prolonged and difficult farming challenges.
“This drought is going to cause a lot of mental health issues,” he said.
Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Jonathan Pollock said rainfall was the lowest on record for the 15-month period starting in February last year for part of Victoria’s south-west coast.
However, he said not all of Victoria was experiencing drought.
“It’s been a drier than average start to the year for most of Victoria with the exceptions of central Gippsland and East Gippsland, where it’s been a bit wetter than average,” he said.
The dry weather is expected to continue throughout May, while the forecast is neutral for June and July.
“We could see dry conditions continue to persist. We can’t rule that out,” Pollock said.
He said the lack of rain was likely to put pressure on water storages.
“We’re likely to see more evaporation than we otherwise would from dams and reservoirs. We’re likely to see soil moisture continue to drop and could see river levels start to lower.”
That pressure is already being felt at Apollo Bay, Marengo and Skenes Creek in the state’s south-west where local storages have fallen to about 25 per cent, compared to 96.5 per cent this time last year.
Barwon Water has implemented stage three water restrictions for those locations. That means filling pools and spas is not permitted, nor can fountains or water features be filled or topped up.
Gardens can be watered only on alternate days between 6am and 8am using a hand-held hose with a trigger nozzle, bucket, watering can or dripper watering system.
Barwon Water reported Apollo Bay had experienced its driest 12 months from May to April in 86 years, and its second-driest on record.
The drought is also taking its toll on the natural environment. La Trobe University ecologist Jim Radford said the past winter, spring and summer had all been dry through central Victoria.
He said forests were becoming dry in both foliage and understorey, which left them vulnerable to insect infestation. Radford said heat stress also resulted in decreased animal numbers.
“There’s higher mortality, there’s higher stress in adult birds. They don’t breed as often or as successfully,” he said.
Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking said the warm and windy start to May had been disconcerting. “Typically, May is cold and wet,” he said.
Duncan Barber on his property. Credit: Alex Coppel
Hosking said farmers carrying livestock were hit particularly hard by drought because they had to maintain the welfare of their animals. He called for more government support, including for water-carting costs.
Political leaders should also place greater emphasis on the drought and spend more time in affected communities, he said.
Victorian Agriculture Minister Ros Spence said she had met with farmers in south-west Victoria to hear how the drought was affecting them. She said the government was closely monitoring conditions across the state to ensure farmers were supported.
Spence said the government was providing $13.5 million in drought support to help primary producers upgrade farm watering systems, install stock containment areas and buy grain and fodder storage infrastructure.
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