As a sixth-generation farmer in Tasmania’s south-east, Brad Grattidge has seen his fair share of droughts.
If you walked through his property, those conditions might not seem apparent today but that changes when he digs just below the grassy surface.
“There’s no subsoil moisture whatsoever,” Mr Grattidge said.
“We’ve had 195 millimetres of rain for the year.
“There’s a slight green tinge around, but as soon as we get some more hot, windy weather — which is September weather — it’ll burn off real quick.”
This year, it’s the first time he has ever had to irrigate through winter. And with an El Niño now officially declared, those conditions don’t look like easing.
“We’ve been irrigating for the last six weeks, which is unheard of … and we’re struggling to keep up,” he said.
“All we can hope for really, is to keep a few paddocks going so that we might be able to cut a bit of fodder for next year.”
Difficult choices for some
For some of Mr Grattidge’s neighbours, the conditions have meant buying in fodder to hand-feed their animals as paddocks dry up, while others are bearing the cost of irrigation water.
Some, he said, are even making the difficult decision to de-stock — with low commodity prices meaning they are getting less money for them.
“Especially with cattle and sheep, if they’re not in good enough condition, they’re worth nothing,” Mr Grattidge said.
“Irrigation water has gone up 9.8 per cent this year … our power costs have gone up, water costs have gone up, labour costs have gone up, fuel. It certainly puts a lot of stress on you.”
Over at Lower Marshes, in the state’s Central Highlands, farmer Tahnee McShane is also seeing the impacts of a dry spring.
While she and her husband’s property was buffered from some of the conditions due to its higher location, they were not immune.
“We’re actually seeing patches in our paddocks where we can actually see exposed soil already, which we haven’t seen for quite a few years,” she said.
Community support ‘most important’
Ms McShane said she was also hearing of neighbours who were having to get rid of their animals.
“There’s no market for them, so some people are already facing some really tricky situations, even before we see that full dry summer,” she said.
She said what was key was farmers knowing they were not alone.
“The most important thing is tackling it as a community.”
“Knowing that even though your business is unique and individual, we’re still facing similar challenges — that, to me, is the most important thing.”
The Rural Alive and Well support service was established in Tasmania.
‘Problem shared, problem solved’
It’s an approach Bothwell farmer Richard Hallett advocates for as well.
“A problem shared is a problem solved,” he said, “It’s really important for everyone to get together.”
His property is a world away from what it looked like last spring.
Where irrigation is being used, the paddocks are vibrant — but where rainfall is being relied upon, it’s a different story.
“We’re sitting on about 50 per cent of our average normal rainfall for this time of year. It’s certainly challenging.”
However, he said he was staying positive that the situation might still turn around.
“We’ve got a few weeks left of spring to sort of get things back on track,” he said.
“We’ve got a business that’s based around expecting and withstanding these sorts of climatic extremes — whether it’s heat, wind, floods, everything that nature can throw at us.
“The business has been around 120 years — that’s what we do.”
Looking decades into the future
Climate researcher Tom Remenyi agreed that collaboration was important .
It was a key message delivered at a recent TAS Farm Innovation Hub workshop he led about preparing for a changing Coal River Valley.
He said with the south-east region already going through a climate shift, it was important farmers focused not just on the coming season but also on the years ahead.
“It’s really important to identify that the 2050 conditions that climate projections have been talking about for some time are fairly certain,” Dr Remenyi said.
“It doesn’t say which years are going to be the hottest, driest, wettest, coldest.
“What it does say is ‘here’s how your climate envelope is changing’ — and therefore, how do your current operations fit inside this current environment? And how does that need to change in order to be more in alignment with the future climate envelope we’re expecting to see?”.
Those answers, he said, would be best found through collaboration.
“It’s really about providing that environment for people to share, because they’re the holders of the knowledge. [Farmers] know how to manage this landscape.
“As a community, they have all the collective knowledge we need to manage the situation in the best way possible — moving into this season, and also longer term.”
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