Australia Endures The Worst Drought On Record

PARKES, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 26: Farmer Wayne Dunford walks through a dusty field after the Barley crop that was planted in it failed October 26, 2006 in Parkes, Australia. Over half of Australia's farmland is in drought, which is being described as the worst on record. Around 92 percent of Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, is considered officially in drought, with no rain falling in some areas for nearly six years, causing huge problems especially for grain crops such as wheat and barley. Farmers have been forced to allow livestock to graze on the failed crops, as harvesting the limited growth would not be practical. Forecasters predict that Australia's wheat crop in the financial year to the end of June 2007 is set to fall to less than half of the previous year's 25 million tonnes, with Australian Treasurer Peter Costello saying that rural Australia is in recession. In an attempt to help the hardest drought-hit areas, the Australian government will provide an extra AUD$560 million (USD$424 million) on top of AUD$350 million (USD$266 million) in aid announced a week ago. The drought has also seen a rise is farmer suicides in rural Australia, with one farmer taking their own life every four days on average. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)