Very dry Australia finally gets the full layer

The farmers in Australia can't believe their luck. After years of drought, the country was finally treated to heavy rainfall last weekend. This is something that the bone-dry country could really use. The reaction on social media is therefore exuberant.

Precipitation is desperately needed in Australia, as it has been suffering from persistent drought for 3 years. In fact, the summer in 2018 was the driest in 50 years. The situation is particularly dire in the states of New South Wales (in the east) and Queensland (northeast). The drought has therefore also left deep marks. For example, milk production in Australia has been significantly decimated, while the wheat harvest has been lower in recent years.

Feed prices also skyrocketed. Last year the situation was so dire that farmers had to slaughter their cows because there was not enough roughage drinking water.

Local 95 millimeters of rain
The spring of this summer also started dry. Until last weekend there was hardly any rain. However, a lot of rain has fallen in recent days. More than 20 millimeters of precipitation fell in many places in New South Wales. Locally, the rain gauge filled up to as much as 95 millimeters. 

The rain, which was accompanied by heavy gusts of wind, was welcomed with open arms by the 'Aussies'. On Twitter (and on other social media) farmers reacted elatedly. Despite the rainfall in recent days, meteorologists predict another dry summer. 

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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