“You don’t have to be stoic in these times”.
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That was the message to the region’s farmers from the NSW Drought Coordinator, Geurie’s Pip Job, as drier-than-average conditions continue into an eighth straight month.
Rainfall hasn’t exceeded the monthly average at the Bureau of Meteorology’s Dubbo Airport AWS site since October 2017, with just 299.6 millimetres falling in the 16 months since March 2017.
The yearly average is 583.4mm.
Story continues below graphs.
It’s a state-wide trend, with Australian and international forecasts suggesting a 50 per cent chance of an El Niño (associated with below-average rainfall in south-eastern Australia) developing in the coming months.
“It’s really important people look after their own mental wellbeing at the moment,” Ms Job said.
“Reach out to the programs that are there … get it off your shoulders. You don’t have to be stoic in these times, you have got to get it out because long-term stress can be harmful for your health and general wellbeing.
“This month so far is already proving to be dry and we know some of the longer range is looking dry as well so it’s just a lot of decision-making for people at the moment – especially if they’ve got livestock.”
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For many that has included the decision to destock.
Ms Job has visited farmers around Coonamble and Baradine this week, and said many were facing that prospect.
“I’ve … met landholders who, if they do have on-farm grain and fodder supplies, they’ve established that they have probably got a couple of months worth left and their plan will be to destock when there’s none of that left,” she said.
The key was to keep making decisions, she said.
“Because once you stop, major stress and distress happens at that point.
“Use the people around you to help make those decisions. Use Local Land Services, your agronomist, your rural financial counsellor, your accountant, bank managers, use your whole brains trust around you to help make those decisions because they are removed from your business so they’re not going to have such an emotive response.”
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Scattered showers and a milder overnight low of five degrees are forecast for Friday, before the morning frost returns on Saturday and Sunday.
Ms Job said the cold snap – overnight lows have dropped below zero eight times this month – was only compounding the dry.
“Any soil moisture that people have got, it’s going to fizzle that out and the cold temperatures … have a big impact on stock welfare,” Ms Job said.
“There’s a lot of people that are lambing now or on the brink of lambing or calving so energy requirements are higher as the stock are pregnant or trying to lactate.
“Management strategies like moving stock to paddocks that have shelter [and hand-feeding are] a really big issue for the table country in these cold snaps … that draw down on people’s labour in trying to meet their on-farm needs.”
