A severe drought has gripped South Australia since early last year and despite recent rain falls, the state continues to suffer a dry season. The Malinaukas government has rolled out a 70-million-dollar support package for the agrarian sector. But as the ABC Landline’s Kerry Staight reports, the tough times has also bred smart farmers.
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00:00There's no escaping the dust in South Australia's drought-stricken mid-north, but as the seeds
00:11start going in, a sense of relief has also settled on farms, with growers like Matt Fowlers
00:19back doing what he loves.
00:21It's quite refreshing to get out in the field again.
00:26We got starved of opportunities last year, and the harvesters obviously didn't spin around
00:31at all.
00:32It's been a long time coming to get back into the field, I think.
00:37The region, which includes the Southern Flinders Ranges, is a mix of reliable and marginal farming
00:42country.
00:44And like many growers, Matt has both.
00:46But that didn't help him last year, after dry conditions in 2023 went from bad to worse.
00:54Last year was unbelievably dry, and we had no stored water, and no harvest.
01:00It was essentially a financial wipeout, which I think we would never have envisaged.
01:05We're used to some wipeouts out on the country we are at the moment, but a more reliable country
01:10can usually keep us afloat.
01:11But there was nothing in that way either.
01:16After losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, there's a lot riding on this year.
01:22And while there has been a bit of rain about recently, it will take much more to turn these
01:27bone dry farms around.
01:30And the Weather Bureau isn't forecasting that any time soon.
01:36Where is your headspace at now, at the start of the season, after last year?
01:40I'm usually very decisive, personally.
01:43And it's knocked me around a little bit this year, just pulling the trigger on decisions.
01:47Now we've got wheels going around in paddock, cedars are in motion and sprayers are going.
01:52Those decisions are locked in concrete, essentially.
01:55And I don't know, it's a big morale boost, I feel.
02:00Financially strapped growers are looking for the best way to put in a cheap crop.
02:04Matt Fowlers, who is also an agronomist, is taking advantage of the nutrients in the
02:09soil that didn't get used last year and pulling back on fertiliser.
02:15And while some may wonder why you'd farm low rainfall country in the driest state, in the
02:22world's driest continent, Matt says it doesn't take much to convert this dust bowl into a passable
02:28crop.
02:29With 140 years of records, we've had seven of the worst 15 on record and zero of the
02:35best.
02:36So it's not been a brilliant time since I've been home.
02:38But we've been able to achieve quite solid yields, a viable business structure.
02:44It's been no worries, the key to us is just nailing the good seasons when they come.
02:49Thank you very much.
02:52Thank you very much.