WHILE not as loud and intense as a bushfire or pandemic, the consequences of a four-year drought are proving devastating for farmers in large tracts of SA.
From Robertstown to Peterborough, Quorn and Orroroo, up to the north-east pastoral districts, and across the Upper Eyre Peninsula, this season - and for many farmers the past four years - has been a frustrating waiting game as substantial rain remains elusive.
Even in the face of huge hay bills, a dwindling Merino flock, perennially struggling crops and low wool prices, Peterborough farmer Kevin Malycha maintains an air of positivity about the seasons that lay ahead.
Mr Malycha has reduced his self-replacing Merino flock from 3000 head to 1500 in the past three years to cover hay costs and in an effort to help feed growth decimated by kangaroos and emus.
"You talk about something other than farming when you pull up to have a chat," he said with a wry grin.
"You just keep on keeping on really, there's not a lot else you can do.
"We can't shut the show up for 12 months and go do something else."
Mr Malycha said kangaroos and emus had proven to be one of the biggest problems during the present drought, competing with sheep for what little feed was available.
"We've taken stock out of our paddocks but there are still kangaroos and emus in there eating any feed left and they wreck any fencing while they're at it," he said.
"They've decimated any native grasses as well and basically turned everything into dust.
"You've got 200 sheep in your paddock but you've got another 200 kangaroos in with them so you've effectively got 400 stock, which is a rate that's too high."
The Malychas have been supplementary feeding for two to three years, with a load of hay lasting two months costing anywhere between $7000 and $20,000.
"We started out selling a few sheep, making our mob smaller, to cover our hay cost," he said.
"When money runs out you've got to sell a few more to buy some more feed."
Having just finished shearing, Mr Malycha expected the clip to be down with dusty backs an issue, while wool prices had dipped 50pc compared with when he sold last year.
On a positive note, Mr Malycha said their 600 hectares of wheat was hanging on this year thanks to small, sporadic rains.
"For the last three years we've sowed and reapt our seed back, which has actually been lucky because others haven't even been able to do that," he said.
"The crops look better than they have in the last few years but they are only just getting by on what rain we're getting - there's no subsoil moisture whatsoever.
"We still need a really good soaking rain."
At Curnamona Station, north of Yunta, manager Jeff Pumpa said it was the worst drought in his living memory.
"We're in a hell of a mess really - this is our fourth dry year in a row," he said.
"I measured 50 millimetres of rain last year, 2018 was 54mm and so far this year we've only had 40mm.
"I'm nearly 70 and been on the land all my life and I've never seen anything like it. Not in my whole life."
Peterborough and Hawker were two of the towns to host a drought forum last week, along with Robertstown, which Primary Industries Minister Tim Whetstone attended.
Mr Whetstone said the Farm Household Allowance and kangaroos were major talking points, with the government continuing to work with the Department of Environment and Water on how to better address kangaroo management.
He said the wellbeing of farming families was a top priority and the forums were a good chance to engage with drought-stricken communities face-to-face.
"It gave pastoralists, graziers and farmers the opportunity to express any further concerns with what they're experiencing and the cloud of uncertainty they're living under," he said.
"It also gave me an opportunity to listen and better understand ongoing issues and see how we can tailor $21 million of drought funding."
Livestock SA president Joe Keynes attended the forums and said he felt for those entering their third and fourth years of drought.
"The pastures are very, very poor," he said.
"There's just no feed and a lot of people have just stopped. A lot of producers have destocked or numbers have been reduced, with many feeding out to try and keep their animals going."
Mr Keynes said the impact of kangaroos on total grazing pressure and the task of rebuilding the flock once the drought broke were issues being considered by the industry and Livestock SA.
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