John's not predicting a drought, but he knows something's afoot

W

hen and how do you declare the beginning of a drought?

Salisbury West farmer, John Vanston, is not predicting drought, but is wondering where the rain has gone.

The Victorian lamb producer and grain grower has likened what he is seeing now to what the conditions were like in the 1982 drought.

A story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Victorian farmer likens severe dry conditions to 1982 drought” – Darren Gray writes, “In recent months he (John Vanston) has only received passing showers, rather than decent rain, which have provided no benefit to the parched paddocks and empty dams.”