A recent study of Australian wheat and sheep farmers after years of increasing drought and dust storms shows that the farmers are suffering from depression, according to a recent story in Modern Farmer.
“The biggest problem seems to be the uncertainty. Farmers don’t know whether their crops will survive or be hit by a sudden drought or heat wave. They don’t know whether the storms will blow their now-dry topsoil away, ruining any chance for crops to grow. Ellis, in the study’s release, said: ‘So what you see in these dry seasons is that farmers will be checking forecast 10, 20, 30 times a day. They just don’t know what’s coming on the horizon, so there’s a degree of anxiety about what is coming their way.’”
Scientists point to longer, drier seasons consistent with a warming climate as the main cause of the lengthy drought conditions.
