(AU) Nullarbor Stations Are Doing It Tough Already, But Some Are Adapting For Even Worse Conditions

 ABC Esperance - Emma Field | Rhiannon Stevens

Russell Swan spends his days carting what little water is left to his cattle. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Rhiannon Stevens)

The Nullarbor, which stretches from the border of South Australia across the treeless plains of Western Australia to the mining town of Norseman, is in the middle of its worst drought on record.

While some pastoralists are taking the traditional path of cutting costs and destocking, others are dealing with the dry by investing in technology, diversifying, and gearing up for even tougher conditions in the future.

At Madura Plains, one of the largest sheep stations in the world, the owners are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in infrastructure.

The South Australian-based Cooper family bought the vast 728,000-hectare station in 2016, and the upgrades they have made mean the station has been able to hold on to valuable Merino ewes.

Despite the drought, the station is carrying about 25,000 sheep.

Station manager Tom Austin says last year's rainfall was the lowest ever recorded since Madura Plains was settled by Europeans in the late 1800s. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Rhiannon Stevens)

It is less than the 70,000 they want to run in ideal conditions, but maintaining some sheep through the drought has paid dividends when prices for ewes soared after the eastern states drought broke earlier this year.

The infrastructure upgrades included replacing most of the station's fences — which was no mean feat as holes for every fence post had to be rock drilled.

They also reduced the size of paddocks and put new water stock troughs in the middle of the paddocks to stop overgrazing near the water points.

Water infrastructure was upgraded with the addition of nine new water bores, giving the station access to fresh stock water rather than the previous salty water, and 800 kilometres of new water pipes were laid.

Madura Plains station manager Tom Austin says technology is changing the way they work, but they're not throwing out all the old traditions. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Emma Field)

"It's made a huge difference. With the drought the sheep are living on saltbush and blue bush which both have very high salt content," station manager Tom Austin said.

"To have good clean cool water, it's been the game changer."

They also installed remote water monitoring, done via a smart phone app.

"Wherever [we] are in the world we can do a water run on Madura Plains and see what's going on," Mr Austin said.

Tom Austin inspects a water tank at Madura Plains Station. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Emma Field)

"It's a great labour saver to get around this place because the roads are terrible, it's hard on vehicles, and it ties up staff.

"To be able to know you've got a problem and go straight to it before it comes in issue it's just invaluable."

Keeping Madura Plain's vast stock water system running is water overseer Bess Harrison.

She says the adoption of technology and upgrades, which includes solar pumps instead of old-fashioned windmills, has benefitted the stock.

"The difference in the health of the stock really has just been incredible in the last three years," she said.

Water Manager Bess Harrison at Madura Plains Station on the Nullarbor. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Rhiannon Stevens)

The Cooper family have more plans for the station, which include using large drones to replace aerial mustering and mapping vegetation on the property.

They also want to start a Boer goat program on their less arable country.

"It's not throwing out all the old traditions, but it's looking towards how we can improve and use technology," Mr Austin said.

Hard time for smaller stations

Technology may go a long way to surviving droughts and a warming climate, but it requires big capital investment.

For Russell Swan on nearby Virginia Plains Station, this kind of investment is out of reach.

Mr Swan moved to the Nullarbor as a young child and this is the driest he has ever seen it.

"We are going into year six of pretty dry conditions," he said.

"[We're] just jumping from next last option to next last option at the moment."

Last year, a lack of water forced him to completely destock.

"We were spending probably $6,000-7,000 a week … just keeping cattle in water," he said.

After promising summer rains earlier this year, Mr Swan brought 150 head of cattle back to the property — a far cry from the 1,500 head of cattle he had six years ago.

But without underground bore water, he relies solely on a series of dams, most of which are almost all dry because winter and spring rains have not come.

Now he spends his days carting what is left of his water to the cattle.

"You get very tired, you get a bit despondent, but it doesn't do you any good, yeah. It's just a case of chin up," he said.

Russell Swan has lived on the Nullarbor since he was a small child. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Rhiannon Stevens)

But as he faces another summer, Mr Swan is not planning on leaving anytime soon.

"I know it breaks eventually, it's just a case of hanging in until it does," he said.

Diversity key to survival

Towards the western end of the Nullarbor at Fraser Range Station, diversity has been the key to survival.

Owner Ben Holman only has about 250 female cattle left on his 202,000ha station, and he has been forced to hand feed since the start of the year.

Mr Holman and his partner also run a tourism accommodation business, but this has been closed because of COVID-19 and the WA border closure.

Their third business venture, an earthmoving contract business, has been their saviour.

Ben Holman says his earth moving business has saved him. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Rhiannon Stevens)

"We do a lot for the [mining] exploration industry and we do a fair bit in the fire season fighting bushfires," Mr Holman said.

"With COVID and the last three years of drought, the contracting business is what's saved us," he said.

"We wouldn't be here now without it because we've lost the other two aspects of the business."

Council body lobbies for drought support

Despite the extremely dry conditions across the Nullarbor and other parts of the Southern Rangelands in WA, these regions do not have access to all government drought funding programs.

Last February, the Federal Government announced 35 local government areas in Western Australia were eligible to apply for the Drought Communities Program — a funding scheme where eligible councils can apply for up to $1 million in grants.

It was the first time WA councils were included on this list, but none were from the pastoral regions.

In response, the WA Local Government Association (WALGA) passed two motions from the Shire of Dundas, which incorporates the Nullarbor stations, agreeing to lobby the federal and state governments over drought funding.

Shire of Dundas president Laurene Bonza said the way the Federal Government measures if a region is dry does not accurately capture the situation for pastoralists along the Nullarbor.

For the Drought Communities Program, the Federal Government uses weather data from Norseman to determine if the region is rainfall deficient.

Fraser Range Station, on the Western Edge of the Nullarbor. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Rhiannon Stevens)

But Ms Bonza says using this weather information is inaccurate as the Nullarbor pastoral stations are up to 600 kilometres away from the Norseman airport Bureau of Meteorology station.

"That rainfall figure doesn't really have any bearing on what's happening out there," she said.

"Some of our guys on the pastoral stations are heading in to their seventh year of well below-average rainfall."

She also claimed some Federal Government drought assistance depended on state governments making a drought declaration.

The Western Australian Government no longer makes drought declarations.

"Our State Government doesn't recognise the word 'drought'," she said.

Drought Communities Program under review

WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan disputed Ms Bonza's claim, saying there were no Federal Government drought schemes that relied on state government drought declarations.

Despite being in a six year dry spell WA's Nullarbor region doesn't qualify the Federal Government's Drought Communities Fund. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Emma Field)

"The last Federal assistance scheme that relied on a state declaration of exceptional circumstances ended in 2008 at the agreement of all states and territories," Ms MacTiernan said.

She said the WA Government provided some assistance to farmers and pastoralists in drought, such as additional rural financial counselling and water carting in WA's eastern Wheatbelt.

But she urged her federal counterpart "to reconsider its decision to exclude Southern Rangelands local governments from its Drought Communities Program and to review the eligibility criteria that saw these areas miss out."

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the Drought Communities Program was under review.

"The Federal Government, as a result of an EY review into the program, is now considering whether it will continue with that program into the future," he said.

However, he said, other drought support available to farmers and pastoralists included the Farm Household Allowance income support program and the Farm Management Deposits scheme.
Posted Yesterday, updated Yesterday

Links

• 'Like a ghost town': Businesses take a significant hit on the Nullarbor plain
• 'Enough to dampen the dust — if that': WA farmers face driest conditions in 40 years
• WA Water Minister warns of 'unprecedented' shortages as drinking water trucked in
• WA councils gearing up for fight with Federal Government after missing out on drought funds
• (AU) West Australian Dry Spell Worsens With Record Water Deficiency Declaration In Cascade