Ask any Upper Hunter farmer whether the region is in drought and the answer is a resounding "yes", but changes to the way drought declarations are made have left them high and dry.
Peter MacCallum has been a stock and station agent for more than 40 years and is a Scone-based cattle producer.
He described the current dire situation in the Upper Hunter to Jill Emberson from 1233 ABC Newcastle Mornings. (listen to attached audio)
"It's as bad as I think I've ever seen it," Peter says.
He explains it's the second spring in a row the region hasn't had any good rain, and says this year the hot, dry westerly winds have been terrible.
"It's a full-blown drought," the cattle producer says.
"It's been very slow to be recognised but it's as bad as I've seen it."
Peter says despite the overwhelming evidence no drought has been officially declared.
"And I find that just ludicrous, really, that we have let it get this bad before there becomes any help available.
"Blind Freddy can see if they just go for a drive the state that some of this country's in.
"Obviously we've got the process of declaring droughts wrong in my opinion."
Peter says local knowledge and influence on drought declarations has been lost.
"There's plenty of people screaming and have been for a fair while, but unfortunately there's no one listening," he says.
The farmers desperately need rebates to send cattle away to agistment or bring fodder in, Peter says.
Added to the drought, he says the cattle market has collapsed and soaring power prices mean many producers are reluctant to pump water.
"I talk to farmers on a day-to-day basis and I'm absolutely concerned about some of these people," Peter says.
"I think that their welfare, their mental health welfare, is something that has to be closely watched.
"It was tough last year and it's tough again, there's a limit to how much people can take."
Merriwa wheat, cattle and sheep producer Ron Campbell says the area's had no substantial rain for months, and a moderate fall six weeks ago was quickly dried out by the westerly winds.
He says wheat yields are up to 50% down, and even substantial rain now would just damage the struggling grain further.
"The stock are doing it very hard, in fact there's virtually no ground cover and no feed, and that's for sheep as well as cattle," Ron says.
"Things are pretty tight, things are pretty tough."
He explains that the old Rural Lands Protection Boards were amalgamated into one Statewide body, which from next year will be called the Local Land Service.
But Ron says under the new system local knowledge has been removed, with producers no longer filling out forms outlining the situation in their area.
"They're relying on computer modelling, and it's not working," he asserts.
"We're in drought."
John James, senior weather forecaster with the Burea of Meteorology at Williamtown, says the Hunter has had hardly any rain and has experienced record high temperatures over the past six months.
The region's also on track to record some of the highest ever summer temperatures over the coming months, with only a slim chance of decent rain, which will tend to come in the form of thunderstorms.
John says the soil is so hard and dry that any substantial rain from the storms could cause flash flooding.
He also predicts that humidity will remain low, bringing bad conditions for more bushfires, and strong westerly winds are likely to continue.
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