Australia's Grain Harvest Cut By Nearly 2/3 Year-On-Year - ABC

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Transcript

MAXINE MCKEW: The latest report from a government forecasting body has described the nation's key winter crops of being in the grip of a severe drought, one which will whip more than $6 billion off farm production, and the bureau of agricultural and resource economics has made another substantial cut in its estimates of production from the nation's major crops of wheat, barley and canola, only one month after its last forecast. Helen Brown has the story.

HELEN BROWN: Just one month in spring without rain has significantly worsened the outlook for the nation's grain growers. The Prime Minister was being told how farmers are now just hoping to save a few seeds from dying crops, so they have something to plant next year. See how the head's shrivelled up and died. There will be no grain in it. The government forecaster has slashed another 2.8 million tonnes off the harvest of wheat, barley and canola.

TERRY SHEALES: People are talking of this drought being comparable to what happened in World War II. The old-timers tell us that. The history books also suggest there was the federation drought at the turn of the 20th century - that was also extremely severe.

HELEN BROWN: Output from the nation's key cropping industries is estimated at 13.6 million tons, down 63 per cent on last year.

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http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1775676.htm

[Auggie]

1. Effects of global warming?

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2. Quite possibly - they're estimating it's the worst drought in 1,000 years

nt

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3. I'm thinking of a phrase....

and that phrase is "holy fucking shit."

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4. I've been posting a lot on Australia lately for two reasons

1. What's now happening is significant in and of itself.
2. I think of it as kind of a dry run (so to speak) for what the United States, among other nations, is going to be facing.

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5. Yes, I agree with both (1) and (2).

Based on the drought reports I've seen this year, I think North America and Europe aren't far behind. Not far at all.

Anybody told Speaker Nancy about that bit yet?