The drought is really starting to bite, according to The Australian on Monday:

This may just be an attempt by Mr Speedy to write a snappy introduction to a story about milk, but just what do farmers think when they read drought stories mourning lattes and lavendar bushes?

While the metros are busy plastering the front pages with polls, these are the stories that the rural press are covering:

  • The Ballarat Courier , 12/9/07: 
  •  Cohuna Farmers Weekly , 12/9/07:
  •   Riverine Herald , Echuca, 14/9/07:

 

  • Stock and Land , 13/9/07:

 

  • The Land , 13/9/07:
  • The Illawarra Mercury, 17/9/07:

 

Drought: Crisis summit to be held in Parkes, NSW

Short, medium and long-term solutions to deal with the impacts of the drought will be thrashed out at a Drought Rural Crisis Summit in Parkes, NSW, on Tuesday next week, September 25. The summit has been coordinated by the Shires Association of NSW with the NSW Farmers Association.

Some of the issues to be addressed include:

• Support for farmers entering and leaving the industry

• Exceptional circumstances funding, and

• The impact of drought on crop belts.

President of the Shires Association of NSW, Bruce Miller, said yesterday, “The threat to winter crops is another reminder that relevant stakeholders need to take responsibility for the crisis facing NSW communities and agree on, and implement, solutions. “At the end of this summit we want to have clear direction on how to relieve pressures on drought affected communities.