http://www.theage.com.au/environment/water-issues/drought-over-but-here-come-the-locusts-20100917-15frv.html
Part 2:
http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/melbourne-cup-under-threat-as-brumby-declares-war-on-locusts-20100916-15e2m.html
Part 3:
While reading the different news sites I have noticed that many of them are mentioning the series of droughts, rain and floods that have now hit the area. The large amounts of rain are undoubtedly good for farmers and potential crops to grow, but now there is a new problem: locusts. According to the first article I have included in this post, locusts may wipe out a significant amount of crops in Southern Australia. The swam of locusts that are expected to hatch in the near future are estimated to be the worst in over thirty years. The second article emphasizes that the locust plague could affect more than just farmers. Large events, like the Melbourne Cup may be cancelled due to the declared war on locusts. It is a shame because the crops conditions are incredibly good for this season, but the locusts may discount a large portion of that. The hatching days are said to be the beginning of October, meaning that we might be caught right in the middle of seeing this locust plague ruin several acres of crops throughout Victoria.
Locusts may be about to devastate Victoria farmers, but it could be an even worse season for wheat farmers in Western Australia. They will have to deal with similar locust problems, but instead of the floods of rain that Victoria has enjoyed, Western Australians have seen a decline in rainfall. Some forecasters are predicting a 45% drop in production for this season. So maybe this is not the worst thing that could have happened for Victoria's farmers, all they have to do is look across the continent.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-01/wheat-output-in-western-australia-may-slump-45-because-of-inadequate-rain.html