Oz Farmers Worried By Increase In Number, Severity Of Crop-Damaging Storms
Storms have devastated more crops in South Australia’s mid north, with one farmer concerned about the role climate change could be playing. “I think it’s just demonstrating that our climate is just changing before our eyes and we need to start doing things better so these weather patterns are not so severe so frequently,” said Caltowie farmer Ben Lehmann, who lost his barley and wheat crop to Saturday's storms.
“I think it’s just another sign that we’re living in a very cranky climate at the moment.” Mr Lehmann said neither he nor his father had seen a storm this intense before. "We have to accept that many things are out of our control … but today has been the hardest day of farming in my short career," he said.
Mr Lehmann said it was devastating to lose up to 100 per cent of crops in certain parts of his property so close to harvest. "They're just a standing stalk and it's shredded complete heads on the ground," he said. "It almost looks like a mower's been through it. You wouldn't put a big mob of sheep or cattle over it and it wouldn't look that bad."
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University of Southern Queensland climate researcher Roger Stone said it was difficult to attribute any single event to climate change, but it is interacting with naturally occurring weather patterns and making them more extreme. He said the recent severe storms were mainly a result of the annual La Niña event occurring later than usual.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-08/farmer-fed-up-with-climate-change-deniers-after-storm-damage/100602878