I love a sunburnt country,
“A land of sweeping plains,
“Of ragged mountain ranges,
“Of droughts and flooding rains.”
So wrote Australian poet Dorothea Mackellar more than 100 years ago and her words still ring true for so many of us today, myself included.
Our farm
I grew up in a small country town in northwest Queensland, and after marrying, moved with my husband and his family to a remote 1m acre cattle station in Central Australia. We live here with our three kids and my in-laws, although my eldest child is now at boarding school in the city over 1,000km away. Schooling for the younger two is provided over the internet via distance education and, much to their dismay, I am their supervisor.
Gillian Fennell with her daughter Eleanor on their farm in South Australia.\ Kim Storey Avalind Photography.
Located in the far north of South Australia, a few hundred kilometres south of Alice Springs, our station runs over 4,000 head of Charbray (Charolais x Brahman) breeding cows on an average of 198mm of rain, which doesn’t seem like much, but in an ordinary year is more than enough. The big problem though, is that it hasn’t been an ordinary year. In fact, it hasn’t been an ordinary three years. We’ve been in a drought for the last three years, receiving less than half of our average rainfall, and we’re not alone.
Alan, Eleanor and Gillian Fennell \ Kim Storey Avalind Photography
Unprecedented
Much of Australia is currently in the grip of what many would call an unprecedented drought. Vast swathes of the country are dry and farmers across the nation, from east to west, north to south are in desperate need of rain.
In my state of South Australia, 63% of the state - an area roughly the same size as France - is experiencing one of the worst droughts on record. Although exact figures are hard to find, it is estimated that more than half of Australia is in drought. And those parts that aren’t in drought are probably on fire.
Our federal government recently announced a dedicated $700m funding package to support farmers and their communities during this time, but it has been widely criticised by many who feel agriculture is being assisted at the expense of other industries, when in fact, financial assistance for farmers makes up less than 0.1% of our GDP, and has been on the decline since the 1980s.
Future of farming
This attitude is not new, and not unique to Australia unfortunately. There are those that argue that the drought relief plan is a quick fix that will actually hinder rural farming communities in the long-term.
Many will wonder what the future holds for us, whether we will survive and be able to carry on the family business.
My husband’s ancestors arrived on a convict ship from Ireland in 1822 and have had a connection to the land here ever since. Our children are the sixth generation of Fennells to farm in Australia and I’m certain they won’t be the last.
We Australians, like farmers the world over, are innovative, resilient and most importantly, just plain tough. We won’t quit so easily.
Read more
Farmer writes: Summer in the central wheatbelt of Australia
Farmer Writes: Australia's live export lessons for Ireland
I love a sunburnt country,
“A land of sweeping plains,
“Of ragged mountain ranges,
“Of droughts and flooding rains.”
So wrote Australian poet Dorothea Mackellar more than 100 years ago and her words still ring true for so many of us today, myself included.
Our farm
I grew up in a small country town in northwest Queensland, and after marrying, moved with my husband and his family to a remote 1m acre cattle station in Central Australia. We live here with our three kids and my in-laws, although my eldest child is now at boarding school in the city over 1,000km away. Schooling for the younger two is provided over the internet via distance education and, much to their dismay, I am their supervisor.
Gillian Fennell with her daughter Eleanor on their farm in South Australia.\ Kim Storey Avalind Photography.
Located in the far north of South Australia, a few hundred kilometres south of Alice Springs, our station runs over 4,000 head of Charbray (Charolais x Brahman) breeding cows on an average of 198mm of rain, which doesn’t seem like much, but in an ordinary year is more than enough. The big problem though, is that it hasn’t been an ordinary year. In fact, it hasn’t been an ordinary three years. We’ve been in a drought for the last three years, receiving less than half of our average rainfall, and we’re not alone.
Alan, Eleanor and Gillian Fennell \ Kim Storey Avalind Photography
Unprecedented
Much of Australia is currently in the grip of what many would call an unprecedented drought. Vast swathes of the country are dry and farmers across the nation, from east to west, north to south are in desperate need of rain.
In my state of South Australia, 63% of the state - an area roughly the same size as France - is experiencing one of the worst droughts on record. Although exact figures are hard to find, it is estimated that more than half of Australia is in drought. And those parts that aren’t in drought are probably on fire.
Our federal government recently announced a dedicated $700m funding package to support farmers and their communities during this time, but it has been widely criticised by many who feel agriculture is being assisted at the expense of other industries, when in fact, financial assistance for farmers makes up less than 0.1% of our GDP, and has been on the decline since the 1980s.
Future of farming
This attitude is not new, and not unique to Australia unfortunately. There are those that argue that the drought relief plan is a quick fix that will actually hinder rural farming communities in the long-term.
Many will wonder what the future holds for us, whether we will survive and be able to carry on the family business.
My husband’s ancestors arrived on a convict ship from Ireland in 1822 and have had a connection to the land here ever since. Our children are the sixth generation of Fennells to farm in Australia and I’m certain they won’t be the last.
We Australians, like farmers the world over, are innovative, resilient and most importantly, just plain tough. We won’t quit so easily.
Read more
Farmer writes: Summer in the central wheatbelt of Australia
Farmer Writes: Australia's live export lessons for Ireland
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