Worst Drought In Living Memory Pounding Eastern Australia - Reuters

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COWRA, Australia, June 5 (Reuters) - "Swirling clouds of fine, brown dust engulf the small truck as Chris Groves hauls the feed bin into a dry-as-a-bone paddock and 200 crying, pregnant ewes race to the grain spilling onto the parched earth. It is their first feed in two days and it is survival of the fittest as the sheep race to the 1 kg (2 lbs) each of drought rations falling from the automatically controlled bin. "It's been a long time between drinks for some of these fellows," Groves said, squinting in the fading daylight.

In another dry field a round-bale feeder is tractored past a mob of cattle, which stampede the hay as it drops to the ground. "Better close the door. They'll take it off as they go past," Groves said as we leave his truck to watch the cattle feed.

Eastern Australia is into the third month of the worst drought farmers can remember -- more severe than the 2002 drought which the weather bureau classes the worst in a century. Smaller farmers are being forced to sell out to bigger competitors after up to three years of little or no income. Australia's winter crops, slashed by half in 2002, face decimation once again. Livestock slaughter is rising, too.

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One hundred and fifty kilometres (93 miles) to the south, the landmark entrance to Australia's sheep city, Goulburn, is a giant concrete sheep called the "Big Merino". The main attention-grabbers now are large red and white warning signs: "Level 5 Water Restrictions Now In Place. Water Levels Now Extremely Low". The city's main dam, Pejar, is down to less than 10 percent of its capacity. It is a dustbowl of cracked, dry earth, with "swimming prohibited" and "boating prohibited" signs stranded by the shrinking the water supply. The town of 25,000 people could be out of water by January."

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SYD107178.htm

[opihimoimoi]

1. Soylent Green is Coming..........

How to avoid SG 101.01......Take care of the EARTH.