Rebecca Ramsden has had three days off this year. Her working days consist of feeding cattle for four hours and digging through dams in an attempt to find water. Whether she is trying to move suction pipes out of the earth or tending to her struggling wetland garden, Rebecca is one of countless cattle farmers fighting to weather Victoria’s current drought that is drying up the earth and the resilience of those who tend to it.
Rebecca lives on a 40 hectare farm in Paraparap, a locality in Victoria’s Surf Coast Shire that has been hit by the ongoing drought; balancing livestock care, agricultural farming, landscaping and drought-prevention amidst the crisis.
Before the drought hit, Rebecca adored tending to her wetland oasis, a place pulsing with natural life and native species of all kinds. Sitting among the greenery in the evenings was an escape for her and offered peace, relaxation and purpose away from the labour intensive days of farming.
This sanctuary has since turned to dust, the endangered fish species gone and the flowing water evaporated. According to the Bureau of Meteorology some water storages in southern states have declined by up to 50 percent.
“Everything revolves around the drought now,” Rebecca says. “It’s all consuming.”
The Victorian government has attempted to ease the financial burden of the raging drought by offering Farm Drought Support Grants to those in need – grants to ease the cost of feed, repairs and water management.
The catch however, is that after the drought many farmers do not meet the selection criteria. The grant demands that those eligible must derive more than 50 percent of gross income from the primary production business and generate more than $75,000 gross income from the primary production business in an average year.
Rebecca purchased her land and her herd of cattle before the drought struck, intending to grow her livestock numbers, but due to the arid conditions she had to reduce the herd instead of building it.
Due to the unfortunate timing, Rebecca does not meet the eligibility criteria and is being punished for circumstances out of her control.
“I emailed the government and told them I felt penalised for the timing of buying the block,” Rebecca says. “They sent an email back saying I was welcome to apply, but I will still have to tick the box that means I won’t qualify – they could just throw it out without reading it.”
Emma Keely, a member for Lowan, addressed the Shadow Minister for Agriculture directly in a plea for extended drought support and demanded they acknowledge the crippling effects the ongoing crisis is having on local farmers and rural communities.
“Overall, this financial assistance package clearly doesn’t go far enough,” Emma says. “Although farmers are now eligible for a 40 percent reduction in their rates, the taskforce recommended a 100 percent reduction. After so much hardship, farmers have been handed financial relief that falls well short of recommendations by the Drought Relief Taskforce.”
For cattle farmers like Rebecca this drought has not only decimated the land on which they work but the sense of stability and security they once had, evident in the increasingly high labour requirements that are met with little to no results.
As the Farm Drought Support Grants continue to disappoint, farmers have been forced to battle the crisis without adequate support that would have aided them mentally, physically and financially.
“People thought that winter would bring relief,” Rebecca says. “It’s just not ending. I won’t get through this summer if I don’t get rain.”
This story is part of a project exploring regional Victoria and the issues farmers are facing. See the whole collection here.
