"Stephen Oakes" wrote in message
news:RABL9.12187$y17.38565@news-

No, the farmers here use quite primitive measures (clearing the land,
working it until its topsoil blows away, spraying crops at mid-day, etc.)
but as soon as you start saying such things you are bombarded with
diatribes
("Australia needs farmers", "going bankrupt", etc).

I remember watching documentaries criticizing Australian farming practises
back in 1984 when I was in high school. Why haven't they changed or, at
least, the government has tried to encourage them to turn to more efficient
farming methods?

I went for a trip out to the country side recently and was aghast to see
some farmers using their industrial water spraying systems at 1 in the
afternoon.

I fought the temptation to ask them whether they realized that 80% of their
watering is lost due to evaporation.