Rain across Eastern Australia dampens farmers' hopes:
FARMERS along the eastern seaboard face a potential $250 million hit to their earnings from this year's winter crops as persistent rain severely affects the quality of one of Australia's key agricultural exports. The rain that earlier this year broke a decade-long drought and prompted many farmers to plant bigger than usual crops to chase rising grain prices is now cruelling the industry as one of the wettest springs in decades delays the harvest and has left many with poorer-quality commodities no longer suitable for food ?production. Ron Greentree, who operates 115,000 hectares of farmland near Moree in northern NSW, has harvested about a quarter of his crop and said if rain persisted in the coming fortnight he could face the loss of half his wheat crop, The Australian Financial Review reports. Grain quality is already low, with Mr Greentree estimating 75 per cent of his harvest would be suitable for feed grain. "It's buggered," Mr Greentree said. The Australian Financial Review . Source: http://www.afr.com END
