The drought sux but how bad is bad…
Living in the city we are so removed from what’s happening on the land around us and yes I’m talking about the drought. It becomes dry scenery on a Sunday drive, a half finished radio story or a segment of the nightly news that flashes past you whilst you’re grabbing a beer with friends.
But it sux and it’s real.
Unless your lively hood relies on precious rain from the sky I don’t think us city dwellers can ever know what the drought really means and how it affects those people who bring us the food we love.
So what does the drought actually mean?
For David at Hunter Natural…..
It means his cattle are going hungry more often than he would like because he can’t get hay delivered quickly enough!
When hay eventually arrives it needs to be sent away and tested to make sure it won’t make the cows sick. Wasting more precious time…
And sometimes even testing isn’t enough.
Sadly a small portion of the hay can be high in nitrogen and in this case, overnight it killed 19 cows, leaving 17 orphaned calves.
It means he’s now lost 25% of his income for the next two years and has precious calves to look after. If it doesn’t rain in the next 6 months he’ll lose more.
The drought sux!
For Sophie at Hillside Harvest…..
It means her Pears we’re a little wrinkly this year and people don’t want to pay as much for them, despite the fact they’re twice as sweet and taste amazing!
It means they’re not sure what next years stone fruit crop will look like because the trees are so stressed.
It means they’ll have to keep trucking in water to make sure they can survive the summer.
The unpredictability sux!
For Emily Ringland at Mossy Mountain Free Range…
It means that pig feed prices have gone up $100 a tonne and now get shipped in from W.A.
It means that they now have to ship in water in for personal use costing more than $1200 p.a
It means there’s more costs to cover and this sux!
The drought sux and there are lots of things you can do about it. Buy a bale of hay, support farming charities but what we’re hearing from farmers is buy local.
Make it an everyday change that has the power to mold the future. Everytime you fork out cash ask yourself, are you supporting local?
A local holiday, a local meal, a local gift…
Follow your food back to the farmer who made it and make sure more of your dollar reaches them!
By supporting local every day you’re showing farmers you care, building a stronger local economy that will support them through the bad times and let them celebrate the good times.
Local is our future.
