Rain and shit

It doesn't look at all like raining - there's zero chance that whisp of that white cloud in the photo producing any - and most of us would say these conditions are glorious, but a lot of people I spoke with last week would give anything for some decent rain. Alas, and to their detriment, there is none forecast.

I've been away in a rural region several hundred kilometres away from home and spent time speaking with the folks who work the land, crop farmers mainly, and the talk was about rain, and the lack of rain more specifically. It was difficult not to sympathise with them when standing in or beside their fields (that should be bursting with crops) that look sparse to say the least. The lack of rain has meant most of the crops have failed to grow properly and whilst the canola field (rape seed) in my image might look good it is, in actual fact, pretty much a write-off...it will not yield anywhere near the amount or quality of produce to make the year profitable. It's the same with wheat, barley and other grains. The farmers are not happy.

There's a knock-on effect to the general market such as increased prices for products due to lack of supply and the farmers will not be able to spend their money on new equipment for the farm or personally...the effect of that lack of spending in the industry and region is catastrophic.

I spoke with a lot of upset and stressed farmers and their families who will be forced to approach the banks looking for extensions to their over-drafts and with the inability to pay the loans down they know they'll be spending the next few years catching up with those failed payments and interest...so years of downturn.

I asked one chap what he'll do and after saying, let the fucking sheep into the field to crop the wheat that didn't grow, he said, "I'll do what we always do and hope for much better next year." That's the thing about these people, they're battlers and quitting comes hard...so they don't do it; they dig in, roll up their sleeves and get back to it and tighten their belts knowing times will get more difficult before they get better. It's the Australian way.

This year has been a shit year for the region I was in and they are really doing it tough. The lack of rain has destroyed what they hoped would be a bumper year because last year was also shit...but rain didn't come. It's a shit situation but what's awesome is their attitude, the way they pull together, stand and fight when they get knocked down and work towards the future. It's a good lesson to learn I think.

Another shit thing is my photo...but that's nothing new, I'm no photographer.