VOA标准英语2008年-Drought Still Stalks Australian Farmers

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
18 June 2008

The most severe drought for 100 years in Australia is getting worse. Farmers warn that this winter's wheat crop could be even smaller than last year's if rain does not come soon. Most Australian grain is exported and empty Outback grain silos have contributed to shortages and rising global prices. Australia is the third-biggest wheat exporter behind the U.S. and Canada. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.
　

Dry, stunted1 barley2 crop being prepared for harvesting on property of farmer Paul Rout3 at Grenfell in the central west of New South Wales, Australia (2007 File)

With the drought showing no signs of easing, Australian farmers say the chances of a bumper⁴ wheat crop this year look slim.

Jock Lawrie is the president of the New South Wales Farmers' Association. He says that good rains at start of the sowing season did not last.

"But, of course, we had a very dry autumn right across many parts of New South Wales," Lawrie noted⁵. "It's knocking some of the forecasts of production down. There's no doubt they were anticipating a good winter crop but as time went by, of course, those figures get knocked back down and they still will continue to get knocked down until we get a good widespread rain right across the wheat-growing belt."

The drought - known here as the "Big Dry" - has forced more than 10,000 Australian farming families off the land over the past five years.

Australian farmers are in the middle of the growing season for their winter wheat - a crop that is planted as the weather starts to cool in April or so, and then is harvested early in the warm summer months, toward the end of the year.

Wheat farmers in New South Wales - the second-biggest wheat growing area in Australia - have seen yields shrink dramatically. And the situation elsewhere in the country is not much better.

Much of Australia's wheat harvest is sold overseas, mainly to the Middle East and Asia.

Last year's poor harvest contributed to the current international food crisis - with tight supplies and increasing demand forcing prices higher.

Ian MacDonald is the New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries.

"Up until 2002, the five-year average (harvest) was around 5.7 million tons, a large percentage of that wheat then being exported," MacDonald explained. "However, for instance, last year it was one-point-eight million tons, so there's a huge shortfall there that is obviously not going onto the international market and therefore would be putting - in conjunction with a number of other factors - pressure and upward movement in prices globally."

Australian officials have cut this year's wheat output forecast by about nine percent to just under 24 million tons. The amount of barley produced is also likely to be below previous estimates.

There is better news for the next rice crop, which is expected to hit 253,000 tons. That is up considerably⁶ from the paltry⁷ 19,000 tons that was just harvested, after the drought had reduced irrigation water supplies.

Australia's canola harvest is also expected to exceed last year's figure.

Ian Macdonald says farmers still face great uncertainty⁸.

"Hopefully we can get some decent rain although it's not looking very good, with 62 percent of New South Wales in drought and only 13 percent satisfactory. So, the outlook at this point is rather bleak⁹ to say the least," he said.

Australians are not immune from inflationary effect of world grain shortages. Grocery bills here have soared 45 percent in the past decade.

Christopher Zinn from the consumer group, Choice, says Australians are generally an optimistic bunch and will be hoping that the problems will end soon.

"We're still cushioned and we're still the Lucky Country in so many ways but these realities - these global realities - are really coming home with a vengeance¹⁰ now," Zinn said. "So, I think that there is a reality check going on - might be uncomfortable. Hopefully, that mythology¹¹ of the Lucky Country, people hope they'll steer¹² their way through. But we'll see how long it lasts and how fast basically the price increases keep coming through."

News about Australia's shrinking wheat crop comes just as heavy rains and floods in the United States have destroyed millions of hectares of corn and soybean crops. The U.S. government expects the corn crop to be 10 percent lower than last year's harvest.

Australian wheat farmers who do manage to produce a healthy crop this year hope to take advantage of record prices on international markets. They are, though, unlikely to enjoy a handsome pay day. Any profit they make will be reduced by the high cost of fuel and fertilizers.

1 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

2 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

3 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

4 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

7 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

10 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

11 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

12 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。