Page 26 - Vol. 39-No.4 issue

TRACTORS & COMBINE HARVESTERS

CLIMATE CHANGE … THE NEW REALITY

As we all get used to the idea that slaughterhouse or shot them when they Back in 1944, almost 90% of the total
weather patterns are definitely changing, became too far gone. The result of that is land of Australia was put to very little use.
nowhere is it more visible than in the huge no income with the banks hovering around Those huge areas of potential are mainly
3 million square mile island continent of wanting their money. arid, barren and useless. They just need
Australia. Known throughout the world as There were a number of farmer suicides, water security.
the “dry continent”, the last three years has the only way out when you lose all hope.
seen unexpected and certainly unplanned
for deluges that have brought major floods LEAN YEARS, FAT YEARS
to almost every state in the country. The fact we’ll have droughts and floods

Well equipped Emergency Services have is a historical fact. The levels of the same
dealt with these issues but human lives in a continuous rotation is potentially very
have been lost and in one flood in Queens- dangerous not just to coastal Australia but
land half a million beef cattle drowned. to the whole of inland Australia. With 65%
Current floods raging in the Gulf Country of Australians live in four coastal cities. 85%
in Queensland and Northern Territory will live within 40 kilometres of the coast. A gentleman called Bradfield, who built
be having the same effect even as we are That’s right, the inland is virtually empty. the Sydney Harbour Bridge, was no doubt
writing this story. With the current rotation of floods and inspired by the Hoover Dam, in the United
droughts, we can expect to see more States. He planned to turn rivers backwards
movement to the coast as farmers give so that floodwaters didn’t just disappear
up and decide that farming is too risky! into the ocean but were retained.
That could have a devastating effect on In spite of Bradfield’s detailed plans,80
not just the Australian economy but also on years later very little has been done to
the growing global population’s reliance on provide water security for Regional Aus-
country’s like Australia to produce sufficient tralia. While politicians preach about jobs
food and fibre. and growth, very little is being done to
THE SOLUTION … WATER “drought proof the country”.
Drought Proofing Australia Map MANAGEMENT One idea was to create an inland sea.
(Australia Replanned) Large parts of Australia’s inland are below
The study of the topography of Australia sea level. The idea would be to channel
THE COMING DROUGHT shows river systems which, if dammed, water from the southern ocean into that
could retain the water that will enable
If we are seeing unseasonal flooding on huge areas of land, mainly used for live- inland basin and thus create evaporation,
an unprecedented scale, Regional Australia, stock grazing turned into high production precipitation and bingo, agricultural land
largely involved in agriculture and mining cropping land. that is well watered. That was an idea
know that the next drought is coming. The that was floated in 1944.
last one, lasting six years, had a devas- Now, climate change is making it even
tating effect on agricultural production, more obvious that the most important
both cropping and livestock, as well as thing for governments to do is provide
destroying infrastructure. water security for the essential agricultural
By that we mean the drought affected requirements of a growing global popula-
Australia’s rural community in a number of tion. When we consider that Australia has
ways. Country towns had to have water only 26 million people (in a country the
trucked in almost daily. Farmers lost their same size as the USA or China) with the
crops, and herds and livelihood. inland virtually empty, the answer seems
obvious.
The only thing that keeps farmers going
in a drought is optimism. We call it hope! WATER SECURITY … IT’S
Normally a drought for a year or two POSSIBLE
can be handled from an overdraft from the With today’s amazing equipment for
bank and the expectation that sooner or tunnelling, earthmoving and the building
later it will break and a bumper production of concrete structures, we can all see what
year will follow. Nobody expected the six can be done. You can’t ignore China’s Three
year drought. Farmers who hung on tena- Gorges Dam or the Millennium Dam on the
ciously lost their emaciated livestock to the Multiquip 6 Trash Pump Blue Nile. Drought proofing Australia would

24 Vol. 39 No. 4