In announcing the expansion of relief funding last week, the state government acknowledged the entire state is now impacted by drought. But in western Victoria where the drought is stretching into its second-year conditions are critical. And while farmers might be on the front line of the battle the small towns that rely on them are also feeling the pain.
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00:00Winter has come to the Wimmera, but with it, more blue skies.
00:15And that means another day of hand-feeding sheep for Clayton Caldo.
00:21The ewes, with lambs at foot, come running,
00:25recognising the ute that's been bringing them feed for the past six months.
00:31The white land crews, they know what...
00:34Well, they can see the hay on the back too.
00:36You can start it whenever you want.
00:41Here on this farmland near Edenhope,
00:43only about 50 millimetres of rain have fallen for the year.
00:46That means dams are dry and pastures are non-existent.
00:50Farmers are flat out feeding livestock and selling off animals,
00:54all the while hoping for rain.
00:56The whole western Victoria itself is pretty bad, real bad.
01:02Clayton Caldo has known tough times.
01:05In 2016, his wife Sophie died from breast cancer.
01:09She was 42.
01:10Yeah, pretty tough going.
01:13It's...
01:14You wouldn't wish any family to go through that,
01:15especially when you've got four kids.
01:17He doesn't know what the future holds for his children.
01:20But farming is a tough sell in a drought.
01:23Yeah, we've got a bit of a plan, but...
01:26Yeah, you get times like this tough, why would you want to do it?
01:30Clayton Caldo received a $5,000 state government drought relief grant last year.
01:36His neighbour, Paul MacDonald, got one too.
01:44But others missed out, because they lived in a local government area that wasn't covered.
01:50It's like playing the game, pin the tail on a donkey.
01:53It was just, if you were in that postcode, you were lucky.
01:57Duncan Barber was one of the unlucky ones.
02:03His farm at Metcalfe, in central Victoria, got no relief,
02:08despite the soaring cost of keeping his flock alive.
02:12At the moment, we're spending $15,000 on a load of grain just to feed the sheep.
02:17Last week, the state government announced it would extend its drought relief to the entire state.
02:23But Duncan Barber says the dollar-for-dollar grants on offer won't bring any respite.
02:30The money would be far better off spent on a rebate on grain,
02:33a rebate on transport costs, a rebate on power.
02:40It's not just on the land this drought is being felt.
02:46Edenhope is a town fuelled by farming.
02:49So, when farmers aren't making any money, community groups and businesses hurt as well.
02:54From the rural supplies, to the local takeaway.
03:01G'day, Angus Hurley from the ABC.
03:03How are you today, mate?
03:04Nick Brambert runs the local takeaway.
03:07It is an excellent community, I can assure you on that one.
03:10The community together always stays together.
03:12But he says fewer people are coming to town.
03:16When there's no water around, the farmers are going to hold back spending.
03:20That's the hardest thing, is getting them here and to give up their time when it's so valuable.
03:25Liz Keeley can see the value in farmers getting together at the footy club to talk through their issues.
03:31And as a local accountant, she knows those issues run deep.
03:36I wouldn't say doom and gloom, but I would be saying conservative and tight.
03:42And not knowing when this drought is going to break is a big concern of theirs.
03:48Local outreach worker Murray McGuinness says farmers are notorious for not taking time to maintain their mental health.
03:56With regional suicide rates almost 50% higher than in the city.
04:01They find it difficult to leave their farms.
04:04They're isolating themselves because they're feeding or they're doing whatever they need to do.
04:10And they're not taking that time out.
04:13But there's one thing everyone in Eden Hope agrees on.
04:17A little bit of rain wouldn't go astray.
04:20So look, hopefully at the end of the week they forecast us we might get 10 maybe plus mil, which would be good.
04:26And if they can just keep their farms ticking along until the drought breaks, the value of their livestock has never been higher.
04:35On the flip side of that, we're seeing record meat prices.
04:39And I just hope for their sake that they get this rain and get the feed.
04:43And they should be in for good times.
04:45We'll just take each day as it comes now and keep feeding these girls and keep them ticking over with their lambs.
04:52But until he hears raindrops on the roof, there'll be no breathing easy for Clayton Calder.
04:58Anyway, that's the way it is.
05:00The rapture is kind of the one where you'll have fun.
05:02And I want the porquerateado in this cube.
05:10It couldn't even walk into the city.
05:17So that's the way you leave.
05:19And if you buy them down here, you can Noble Angle32 figure for yourself.