N.Z. hay for N.S.W. drought?

Press, 19 April 1980, Page 3

N.Z. hay for N.S.W. drought?

NZPA Sydney New Zealand farmers could be asked .to provide hay to help farmers facing severe drought problems in New South Wales, according to a New South Wales Department of Agriculture official. One Australian agncul tural firm might be interested in buying 100.000 bales of hav a fortnight to sell to New 'South Wales farmers, said Mr Bob Gilchrist, the state’s principal livestock officer for beef cattle. He had already made preliminary inquiries to see if hay could be available from New Zealand.

Nearly 90 per cent of New South Wales is expected to be declared a drought area by the end of April unless

substantial rain falls. Moren than 80 per cent has already i been officially declared |i drought affected. ’ Paddocks are turning into i dust bowls and are stripped I of pasture and dams are i drying up. Some farmers have already sent all their I cattle to slaughter and with i the onset of winter most are ' expecting the position to i worsen. i< Mr Gilchrist said that at|i tb : s stage he was seeking; only information on whatii hav was available in Newp Zealand and at what cost, i The main problem to be;, overcome would be to get|i the present total ban on hay|i imports to Australia lifted. 11 If the Commonwealth De-ll partment of Health agreed 11 to lift the ban because ofi

[the farmers’ plight he envisaged that only certain types I of hay, probably lucerne. I would be allowed in and that it would have to be fumigated before it came ashore. The present drought is being talked of by farmers in rhe same terms as the “disaster drought” of 1965 s 67. Some are even looking as far back as 1901 for a i comparison. [ Wbat is especially’ worrying them is that even if rain : comes in quantities now for [r-.ny it will be too late. [Autumn frosts are already appearing in the higher areas and the rest must get rain in the next two weeks before the cold stops any growth. i There are no facilities for

stock to graze in unaffected areas. Nearby interstate areas, Victoria and southern Queensland, are also affected.

To depress farmers further export prices for beef have been tumbling, mainly because of price falls in the United States. In some areas prices for export beef cattle have dropped by about 35 per cent in the last eight weeks. The New South Wales Agriculture Minister, Mr! Jack Hallam, has said that the drought has all the portents of being a widespread disaster. “At stake is the New South Wales 50 million sheep herd. six million cattle, and the welfare of 75,000 landholders,” he said.

The Federal Government has announced tax concessions for farmers and pastoralists to enable them to provide more water for their drought-stricken properties and the state Government yesterday proposed a $4O million drought-relief programme. For the citv dwellers who have revelled in the Indian summer there is the prospect of higher prices for milk and other dairy products and vegetables if the drought continues. Wine fanciers could also suffer. They have been warned by grape growers that the prolonged drought is affecting this year’s crop, which has already been badly affected by severe frosts last spring.