W/O Water, Grass, Austrlia's Cattle Industry "On A Knife Edge" - Reuters

[hatrack]

SYDNEY - Drought-hit Australian farmers are being forced to return tens of thousands of head of cattle to parched paddocks and expensive hand feeding as a worsening drought leaves the country's usually green stock routes barren.

Cattlemen say they can no longer rely on "the long paddock", the stock routes that follow country roads where dew and rainfall run-off usually produces strips of green feed. "People are very, very nervous. We're going into the fifth year of drought," cattleman and New South Wales Farmers Association President Jock Laurie said. "It's absolutely right on a knife-edge," said Laurie.

Saleyard prices have already begun to fall, shedding around 5 percent last week. A sudden sell-off of cattle in recent weeks had been "sizeable", especially in the southern states of Victoria and South Australia, said Peter Weeks, chief market analyst of industry body Meat & Livestock Australia.

Farm water supplies are also running out as dust-dry land immediately soaks up what little rain does fall. "For this time of year to not have water for the stock to drink is amazing," said Weeks.

EDIT

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/37948/story.htm

[mcscajun]

1. Early warning of global tough times ahead.

Another item to add to the increasingly long list...

:scared: