Drought and agriculture
With a recurrence of an El Nino weather pattern behind dry conditions already affecting huge areas of Australia, another major drought could be one struggle too many for farmers.
Crop growing areas
Australia is the world's third-biggest beef exporter, as well as a big producer of wheat. Wheat growing areas are determined by soil type, soil fertility, topography and, most importantly, rainfall.
Australia is the world's third-biggest beef exporter, as well as a big producer of wheat. Wheat growing areas are determined by soil type, soil fertility, topography and, most importantly, rainfall.
Soil moisture
Lower layer soil moisture (0.2 to 1.5m) is slow to respond to rainfall and tends to reflect accumulated events over seasonal time scales, making it useful in describing conditions such as drought.
Annual rainfall
The annual rainfall anomaly shows how much rain fell that year in comparison to a 30 year average.
The annual rainfall anomaly shows how much rain fell that year in comparison to a 30 year average.
Effect on agriculture
Wheat
Years with El Nino episodes have a heavy impact on wheat production.
Cattle
Cattle farmers also struggle during dry conditions. Unable to find enough food or water for their animals, farmers are forced to slaughter more, increasing availability and pushing down prices.
Financial impact
Drought is a traditional foe in Australia, but an inability to contain the risk means less money available to channel into new equipment or technology for farmers already saddled with a record A$64 billion of debt.
Total farm debt
Sources: Raupach MR, PR Briggs, V Haverd, EA King, M Paget, CM Trudinger (2009),
Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP): CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric
Research Component: Final Report for Phase 3. CAWCR Technical Report
No. 013. 67 pp;
Raupach MR, PR Briggs, V Haverd, EA King, M Paget, CM Trudinger (2012),
Australian Water Availability Project. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research,
Canberra, Australia. 14 August 2014;
Australian Bureau of Statistics; Australian Department of Agriculture;
Graphic by Simon Scarr, Christine Chan, Matthew Weber
Updated: 18 August 2014