Lack of rain reaching tipping point

Farms in parts of Tasmania are either at a tipping point or at a point of no return when it comes to feed supplies for winter due to ongoing dry conditions.

A band from the north-west coast through the central north to the south-east of the state has seen barely any rain in recent months and most of the state, barring the west coast, has had less than 50ml, some places less than 10ml of rain during March.

Isolated patches of rain over the weekend in some areas did little to ease the situation.

Along with dry dams, livestock condition dropping and oversupply at the state’s abattoirs, another indicator of the dry spell is Orford, Triabunna and Lady Barron on Flinders Island, being placed on stage 1 water restrictions from Friday, April 4.

According to the Bureau of Mereology, February rainfall was below average to very much below average (in the lowest 10 per cent of Decembers since 1900) for most of Tasmania.

While the BOM is forecasting rainfall to be within the typical range for April to June for most of Australia, Tasmania has a slightly increased chance of below average rainfall for the next three months.

Sorell beef farmer Brad Grattidge, who has 1000 head of angus spread across his main property, Rayburn and on land at Bream Creek, Pawleena and in the central highlands, said his land at Sorell is by far the driest.

He said it would have to rain tomorrow for there to be any chance of pasture growth before the cool weather intensifies and the frosts arrive.

“There’s just no subsoil moisture whatsoever, I drove in a fencepost the other day and even a metre down there was nothing,” he said.

“We’ve only had 35mm so far this year and the unseasonal winds have only made matters worse.”

Like many farmers he was expecting an autumn break by now, with the 12-month weather forecast looking promising last year, however the rain has not eventuated.

He said he’ll be looking to buy fodder in coming weeks if nothing changes.

“The feed isn’t there and the cattle are going backwards in condition, and that makes it even harder to get through winter,” he said.

“The only positive is that with the dams empty I’ll be able to concentrate on getting them cleaned out while there is an opportunity.”

He said the other issue is selling and processing stock.

“Because it’s so dry everyone is starting to offload sheep and cattle, putting the market under pressure and overwhelming the abattoirs,” he said.

On Flinders Island, farmers are reporting a severe lack of feed, despite the green appearance in paddocks from a recent rainfall event.

Scott Anderson from beef farm Killara said that he stocks around 3500 cattle, around 1800 cows and 1600 followers, and while there was 22mm of rain recently, prior to that 4ml and 6ml were the only measurements from the rain gauge for quite some time - totalling 80ml for the year so far.

“I’m hand feeding about 1000 head at the moment and that will increase in the next three to four weeks,” he said.

“The island is an interesting place where some spots get more rain than others, but everything is hinging on that one decent rain before winter and if that comes, we’ll be okay because our relatively milder climate will give us time to get some growth on the paddocks.”

“We rely on a lot of bore water and so far the water table is holding up okay.”

Nutrien Ag Solutions Flinders Island branch manager and local farmer Richard Mollinaux confirmed that “a fair bit of fodder has been ordered”.

“I reckon close to 700 tonnes of stock pellets, and close to 1300 bales of hay have been imported this past month,” he said.

“We were lucky that prior to that some locals had cut some extra hay and we sourced nearly 400 bales, plus another 1000 bales came in from the north-east coast of Tasmania.

“Most of the pellets are being sourced from Victoria but really, it’s not like you can just ring up and get an overnight delivery here.”

The pressure of the dry conditions is being felt on the land and at the tap.

Residents of Orford, Triabunna and Lady Barron are being encouraged to spread the word on water conservation and its importance to people visiting the area to maintain supply.

TasWater General Manager Customer and Community Matt Balfe said stage 1 restrictions require only small changes to how people use water, but even a small change can have a significant impact on the amount of water available in the system.

“Many factors were considered before implementing stage 1 restrictions for Orford, Triabunna and Lady Barron,’’ Mr Balfe said.

“As we approach the busy school holidays and break, it’s important for us to ensure there is enough water for everyone.

“Conditions have been very dry across the state leading to high water usage, and the outlook from the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts no significant rain forecast over the next few weeks.

“Flinders Island has faced sustained dry conditions for the past two years, and as we head towards a holiday period where the East Coast will see an influx of visitors, stage 1 restrictions will be put in place until conditions improve.

“Stage 1 restrictions aim to reduce non-essential water use by 20 per cent by encouraging more conscious use of water at home and at work.

“Small changes to water usage, like taking shorter showers and using the half-flush on the toilet, add up to have a huge impact on water supplies across the state.”

CORRECTION: Readers please note that the print version of this story in Tas Country incorrectly stated that Brad Grattidge ran 3500 head of cattle when it is in fact 1000. Tas Country apologies for the error.