The Big Dry.

[Hairs]

Re my post in 'What were you doing Half Hour Ago,
The Clarence River being dry at Yates Crossing, this is still the case.
A mate went for a drive last week to Carnham, looking for a camp site for Easter, the Clarence River there was also dry, only puddles.
Myswaggers that know Cangi, the Mann River at the Broadwater Bridge has just about stopped flowing, which means the catchment behind Coffs to Dorrigo, including the Boyd, Guy Fawkes, Henry,  Nymboida, little Nymboida, The Sticks, The Blicks and Bobo Rivers have had no rain.
We need rain.
Our 4wd club has a Hut Maintenance to Cunglebung Homestead on the 31st of this month, not expecting to do a lot of grass cutting, whipper snippering there with the lack of rain. I'll post a trip report of this trip.



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[alnjan]

Re my post in 'What were you doing Half Hour Ago,
The Clarence River being dry at Yates Crossing, this is still the case.
A mate went for a drive last week to Carnham, looking for a camp site for Easter, the Clarence River there was also dry, only puddles.
Myswaggers that know Cangi, the Mann River at the Broadwater Bridge has just about stopped flowing, which means the catchment behind Coffs to Dorrigo, including the Boyd, Guy Fawkes, Henry,  Nymboida, little Nymboida, The Sticks, The Blicks and Bobo Rivers have had no rain.
We need rain.
Our 4wd club has a Hut Maintenance to Cunglebung Homestead on the 31st of this month, not expecting to do a lot of grass cutting, whipper snippering there with the lack of rain. I'll post a trip report of this trip.

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Couple of storms the past couple of days have been a start but need more

[Hairs]

Couple of storms the past couple of days have been a start but need more

There is a storm atm moving east from the tablelands, whether it crosses the range we have to wait & see.

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[Hookie]

I went to Dangar's gorge near Armidale in late January and there wasn't even a trickle. Hot as hell and the only water around was a handful of stagnant, stinky pools. We need a year of good rain to get back to normal.

[avotrol]

I went to Dangar's gorge near Armidale in late January and there wasn't even a trickle. Hot as hell and the only water around was a handful of stagnant, stinky pools. We need a year of good rain to get back to normal.

Trouble is, I don't think the weather knows what normal is anymore. If we are not in drought, then we are in flood. Hopefully an in between "compromise" happens, especially for the sake of the rivers and the farmers who are now reaching the very end of their ability to hang on any more   

[Paddler Ed]

Just done Armidale - Newie on Thunderbolts; it was brown/dead to about Nowendoc, and even the Manning was low.

As Hairs said, it's been bloody dry up here on the Tablelands - have a mate who was fencing and was 1500mm before he found moist clay...

Styx has been low for a long time, and according to mate above, about the lowest it's been in his family's memory.

Armidale has also just gone onto Level 1 water restrictions, with some saying the first time in 30ish years that's it got there.

[Banjo16]

These pics are the Manning river where it joins the Barnard river just downstream from Bretti reserve , taken 3 weeks ago.

[alnjan]

See the Gold Coast just got washed.  160mls from 4.30pm to 7.30pm according to the BOM

[Rumpig]

See the Gold Coast just got washed.  160mls from 4.30pm to 7.30pm according to the BOM

been a wet weekend in SEQ...most areas around Brisbane have had over 100mm this weekend, but yeah some other areas had bigger falls this afternoon...the dam out Beaudesert way had 97mm between 4.15 p.m and 5.15 p.m this arvo.

[JusyApples]

took this photo in the Namoi River well where the river should be. That was in October so I assume it's not changed


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[glenm64]

Saw an interesting piece (Landline?) on cold variety wine grape growers moving to Tassie cause mainlamd Aus is warming and theyre even looking at new gm varieties for there to survive. Even there is warming. Mother nature doesnt listen to the spin.

Cheers Glen

[JusyApples]

Saw an interesting piece (Landline?) on cold variety wine grape growers moving to Tassie cause mainlamd Aus is warming and theyre even looking at new gm varieties for there to survive. Even there is warming. Mother nature doesnt listen to the spin.

Cheers Glen

Who knows what Mother Nature is doing when the BOM rewrites weather data to suit their needs


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[Spada]

been a wet weekend in SEQ...most areas around Brisbane have had over 100mm this weekend, but yeah some other areas had bigger falls this afternoon...the dam out Beaudesert way had 97mm between 4.15 p.m and 5.15 p.m this arvo.

And the way the reporters in raincoats carried on about it last night......you'd be excused for wanting to build an ark?

[noel_w]

 

[Hairs]

Another storm cell this arvo moves from the south following the Summerland H/Way, only a couple of drops.


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[Hairs]

We've recieved less than 50ml in the gauge since March.
Dam levels around NSW are dropping.



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[rossm]

Over here in the West we are expecting a rain event this weekend, starting with the first of a series of cold fronts tomorrow night.

The forecasters are tipping rain as far north as Exmouth and good falls into the wheatbelt.

These days I spend a bit of time at Moora, a couple of hours north of Perth. Farmers there have had no meaningful rain this year and when I was up there last week there were a lot of dry seeded paddocks and work was still in progress.

The same area had a really good season last year. Hopefully they can get enough over the next few days to get things started. and of course there is the all important follow-up as we move into winter proper.     

[Paddler Ed]

What do the numbers for destocking look like?

I was talking to someone yesterday... normally 700 head. Currently? 60.

Now, how do they recover to that previous level, or something in between when it might cost $6/kg for each beast?

[Hairs]

What do the numbers for destocking look like?

I was talking to someone yesterday... normally 700 head. Currently? 60.

Now, how do they recover to that previous level, or something in between when it might cost $6/kg for each beast?

This is an issuse that many producers here are talking about.
They really can't see a way out of it.
It's going to cost big time to restock.


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[Paddler Ed]

This is an issuse that many producers here are talking about.
They really can't see a way out of it.
It's going to cost big time to restock.

These guys are quite lucky in some ways, the stock aren't the only income. But some quick sums @$4/kg and a 250kg beast, that's $1000/beast.... and you need 500 to get back towards where you were? There goes $500,000.... and that's not going to be made up in one year's off farm income.... Oh, and everyone else is going to want to restock as well, so I reckon the price will be well above $4/kg when it does sort itself out - especially as I know some of the breeding stock has gone to the kill floor.

Very few of the producers I know have reliance on one income stream. I think that is in part to being where we are, and so people cross-earn with other work.

[Spada]

What do the numbers for destocking look like?

I was talking to someone yesterday... normally 700 head. Currently? 60.

Now, how do they recover to that previous level, or something in between when it might cost $6/kg for each beast?

I have a friend with a farm near Walcha NSW (Sheep for wool + a few cattle) . Has been in drought for a few years now. The 120 cattle are all gone, and the 3500 head of sheep is now down to around 1000.

Sadly most city folk assume the drought ends the day after it rains, they have no understanding that it will still take a few years of little to no income to get stocks back up.

[Hairs]

Sadly most city folk assume the drought ends the day after it rains, they have no understanding that it will still take a few years of little to no income to get stocks back up.

This is true and sad.
The majority of our population live on the coastal fringe of our country.
They expect when they turn a tap, water will come out of it.
At the moment this IS NOT THE CASE.

I don't know how you can educate stupid.



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[Paddler Ed]

This is true and sad.
The majority of our population live on the coastal fringe of our country.
They expect when they turn a tap, water will come out of it.
At the moment this IS NOT THE CASE.

I don't know how you can educate stupid.

Had dinner tonight with a mate; him and his brothers are off the land, and his brothers still work on the land. They've all spent time in the NT/N. WA, and the story for tonight was when the live export market was closed off for the NT/WA cattle, and how one of his brothers was out shooting the cattle from helicopters because there was no market for them.

All of us are based along the northern end of the New England Highway, and were talking about how businesses are suffering - even down to the barber shop not having the customers because the farmers don't have the spare $15-20 for a hair cut. Another is the coffee shop that doesn't get their first customer in until 9am, and that's from the shop opposite...

The detachment from the drought I think is in part because the news networks outside of the ABC have little connection with their regional offices, and therefore don't syndicate it back to people outside their local area. Talking about time to restock and rebuild, I think it's now at the point it's beyond the farmlevel problems, it's actually at the national herd level - so much prime, valuable, breeding stock has had to be cleared off (and often into the abattoirs) that it is going to take many years to recover. $700,000 to restock to get back to a viable operation level, never mind the time that has been sunk into keeping on going, nor the cost of keeping what they have got left.

I watched the edge of the NSW news on Channel 10 today, and they were talking about how quickly the dams will come up after the rain around Sydney - the don't rise instantly after rain... and the amount of rain needed to get the inflows needed is months worth.

[Fizzie]

and they were talking about how quickly the dams will come up after the rain around Sydney - the don't rise instantly after rain... and the amount of rain needed to get the inflows needed is months worth.

Sometimes they can though.

10'ish years back now, Hinze Dam on the GC was down to 11%.

They announced on Friday night's news that when / if it dropped to 10%, Level whatever water restrictions would come into play, including "recycled" water (ie treated sewerage ), being put back into the town water supply. Also said showers were expected over the weekend, but wouldn't do much.

The showers turned into an absolute deluge (I seem to remember 1m of rain in 3 days?), & they then announced on Monday night's news that the dam was at 67% - it then overflowed about a month later!

Unfortunately, you than also get the situation that we've just seen in NQ, where that amount of rain, which should be life-saving, caused incredible devestation

[Bird]

I don't know how you can educate stupid.

isn't it like all things... smoking, drink driving, drugs, etc.. some people are beyond education or just dont want to hear the message.