WITH much of the region drought-stricken and no immediate relief in sight, it could soon be “decision time” for many landholders in the district, according to Emerald Hill farmer, Bill Hobson.

Months of no rain, following two years without a forage sorghum or millet crop have left Mr Hobson of “Quia Station” and his sons Warren and Jamie, with no choice but to cut stock rates weekly and supplement their little-to-no-feed with bales of hay and salt blocks.

Mr Hobson said they are currently selectively feeding a smaller number of stock daily, including bulls, as they still have wheat stubble in the paddock.

“It’s enough to keep them in good condition at the moment, but once that and our hay supply is gone, what do we do?”

He estimates in a fortnight’s time they will be putting out around 25 big round bales of hay per day to keep their 400 cows plus calves and 100 heifers afloat across properties they own in the Mary’s Mount, Mullaley, South Ghooli and Emerald Hill areas.

Mr Hobson said buying in feed will be his family’s biggest concern if dry conditions don’t ease soon.

“It will be full-on and we could face our biggest problem – if we run out of hay we either won’t be able to secure any more or if we manage to find some the price will be through the roof,” Mr Hobson said.

Stock routes in the area remain dry and desperate with little feed and water available.

“There is no where to go, no agistment available and there will be no hay to buy,” he said.

“I think it will be decision time for a lot of people.”

A strong underground water supply makes Mr Hobson one of the lucky ones.

“I’ve made water my priority over the years,” he said.

“The cattle are drinking 20 gallons of water per day, some of the dams are getting short, but we have a great underground supply we are able to pump, which should keep us out of trouble.”

He said the 2002 drought was the worst season in his farming life, but the current run of dry spells are shaping up to be another huge concern.

“You finally get some rain, and you get out of jail, but then it’s dry again in an instant,” Mr Hobson said.

Mullaley sheep farmer, Mac Howarth is facing similar problems with only 20-30 per cent of natural pasture left on his Oxley Highway property, “Wahroonga”.

“With an inch of rain in July and another in November with no follow-up, I’m feeding dry stock every second day with corn,” Mr Howarth said.

“I’ve also weaned stock to put on self feeders containing oats we had stored.”

A supply which he said is now running out.

“There’s nothing around locally, I’ve brought in oats from West Wyalong to be delivered next week,” Mr Howarth said.

“I haven’t been able to strip an oat crop for a couple of years because of the seasons, so have just used the crop as paddock feed.”

He said cotton seed has also become a scarce commodity.

“We have used cotton seed in the past, but it’s pretty scarce at the moment, making it quite expensive.”

Small dams on the property have dried up, and a couple of bigger dams are still holding water, but Mr Howarth said he is now relying mainly on bores.

“It’s adequate enough to keep the stock going, but there isn’t much left over for anything else,” he said.

Mr Howarth said he will continue to feed his young breeding mob, with enough hay for a further 3-4 months in the shed.

“I’ll just keep feeding them and hope for the best.”

Source - http://www.nvi.com.au/