EMERGENCY supplies of grain will be imported to feed drought-stricken stock, as forecasts for Australia's winter crops and livestock are slashed by $6.2billion.
The downturn is so severe it could knock 0.7per cent off national economic growth. The Government's commodities forecaster yesterday issued its third downgrade of crop estimates in seven months.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Rural Economics predicted the smallest wheat crop in more than a decade and massive falls in barley and canola crops. Grazing stock will suffer "severe consequences".
This article from down under has the particulars but what strikes me is the .7% downturn in economic growth being forecasted. I bet it turns out to be even bigger than that. This just goes to show you how important agriculture can be to a country.
Weep not that the world changes - did it keep a stable, changeless state, it were a cause indeed to weep. William C. Bryant
