WHILE some sceptics may remain unconvinced that climate change is now a thing in our world, even they must surely be alarmed by the rate of change we are now seeing.
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It seems the time between good seasons and bad can now be measured in weeks and months rather than years.
Last winter was the driest on record in our region and summer looked particularly grim for farmers. But good spring rains quickly changed the landscape and the outlook, and what had previously appeared hopeless suddenly seemed salvageable.
Less than two months into 2018, however, and conditions for men and women on the land are looking bad again.
You do not have to drive very far out of the centre of Bathurst to see just how dry conditions have become.
Tired paddocks are suffering following an extended dry period, even allowed for the welcome eight millimetres of rain we received earlier this week.
Conditions are even worse in the Hunter region, as Bathurst’s Grant and Cheryl Denyer found on a trip to the region last weekend.
The Denyers have thrown their support – and their names – behind the Rural Aid program to highlight the plight of farmers who are again doing it tough.
They are particularly keen to support the Buy a Bale campaign where, for a donation of just $20, Rural Aid will purchase a bale of hay which is then distributed to farmers in need.
So far, the charity has delivered more than 200,000 bales of hay across the country.
And as talk starts turning to the possibility of drought decorations, we all should be thinking about what we can do to help.
Again, consideration of water restrictions around the Bathurst region must be an option.
It might be more a symbolic gesture of support than anything else, but when water is scarce just a few kilometres from the city’s CBD there can be no good reason for urban homeowners not to have some limits placed on their waste.
Australian farming families are a resilient breed and they will get through these ominous times just as they have survived so many tough times before.
Initiatives such as Buy A Bale are a fantastic to way practical support but there is no good argument for us not to provide symbolic support as well.