DROUGHT LOSSES IN AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30953, 8 January 1966, Page 8

DROUGHT LOSSES IN AUSTRALIA

A DROUGHT toll in Queensland of 7m sheep is forecast for 1965-66 in a survey just completed by the United Graziers’ Association, reports the “New Zealand Meat Producer.”

Mr C. B. Bell, president of the association, said that the

survey was conducted In all important woolgrowing areas of the State. The assessment of losses was on the assumption that normal or near normal conditions would exist between now and the end of June.

The 7m sheep expected to comprise the drought toll by June were made up of actual deaths, forced sales for slaughter owing to drought conditions and losses of natural increase through no lambings. The loss of so many sheep in the State in one year was unprecedented, he said, and was a grave situation amounting to a national disaster. In addition, the cattle husbandry director of the State Primary Industries Department, Dr. G. 1 Alexander, has forecast that by the end of this year the State would have lost round 300,000 head of cattle in the drought The “World Wool Digest” quoting from a report on the drought recently published by the Australian Woolgrowers' and Graziers’ Council, says that it was estimated that in Australia as a whole some 82m sheep, or half of the total sheep population, at March of this year, were in drought-affected areas. In four previous droughts it was stated that losses had ranged from l/12th (or 8m head) to about a half (or 47m head) of the total flock as counted at the beginning of each drought period.

The time taken for these losses to be made good ranged from six to 32 years after •the beginning of the droughts. In the case of losses of wood output the recovery periods ranged from five to IS years. The quicker recovery in wool production as compared with sheep numbers reflected the absolute gain in the cut of wool a head in thcnart, but

figures for recent years suggested that this might not be such a significant factor in the recovery from the present drought as it had been in the past.