By Staff Writers
Parkes, Australia (AFP) Jan 18, 2010 Torrential rains in Australia have failed to quench the country’s “Big Dry”, a decade-long drought that has driven farmers to the wall and shows no signs of abating. While the rains flooded many areas in recent weeks, made parched rivers flow again and even halted the iconic Ghan cross-country train, large parts of the hot, dry country were left untouched. Ken Keith, a third-generation sheep farmer near Parkes in rural New South Wales, was one of those bypassed by the deluge. “It’s probably been the driest 10 years ever, in my memory anyway,” he said. “Last year was the third-driest year for the previous 40 years on this farm.” North of Parkes, the rains flooded scores of towns — the best falls for many areas in a decade. But Parkes saw only a sprinkling, just enough to raise a stubble of grazing crops. … Despite the Christmas rains, drought extended by one percentage point to nearly 82 percent of the eastern state of New South Wales in January, officials said. Just five percent of the state is rated “satisfactory”. “The recent rainfall events occur against a backdrop of decade-long rainfall deficits and record high temperatures that have severely stressed water supplies,” said rural affairs minister Steve Whan. … Parkes has seen other droughts, in 1982 and 1967, but never so relentless, Keith says. All but three of his farm’s 40 dams are dry, and he has to feed all his 2,000 sheep by hand because the grazing pastures are withered and useless. Most people in the area are receiving government assistance and are heavily in debt. Keith was forced to shrink his herd by one-fifth last year and is contemplating trucking his animals north to graze until matters improve. Meanwhile Parkes’s town dam is at just six percent capacity, and the authorities have stopped running water to some nearby smaller communities, meaning some farmers are having to bring in water by road. …

Torrential rains can’t quench Australia’s ‘Big Dry’