Economics Assignment: Natural Disasters in Australian Cow Farms
Question
Task
Prepare a report on economics assignment addressing the following points:
- Research Australia’s Cow farms and list five top farms which are highly prone to natural disasters.
- Research 5 top locations that cows were severely damaged by natural disasters. Provide source of evidence from peer reviewed articles.
Answer
Answer 1
The research on economics assignment signifies that Cow Farm is situated in almost every state of Australia, mostly in the southeast part of Australia. The Australian Cow farms have been operating with the total revenue of $3 billion with more than 40,000 Australian employees that feed a million consumers in a daily basis. However, the climate and natural resources of southeast Australia are mostly favorable for cow farms that permit the industry to be primarily based upon pastures. It has been identified that more than 60% of cattle feed requirements come from grazing during the average year in Southeastern Australia (Schroeder, 2021). At present, the number of registered cow farms in Australia is more than 5500 approximately which has led to an average size of dairy farm herd has augmented from 93 cows in 1985 to 261 cows until date (Dairyaustralia.com.au, 2021).
Figure 1: Number of Cow Farms in Australia
Source: (Dairyaustralia.com.au, 2021)
Australia is said to be one of the places where natural disasters are more likely to occur. Thus, many cow farms in Australia have been suffering because of natural disasters.
The top five Cow farms in Australia that are prone to natural disasters are as follows:
- Anna Creek, Station located in South Australian has been affected by the natural disaster such as drought. It has been identified that the impact of drought has slowly bleached the land of the station, forcing the station to empty the station in order to save the cattle. However, this cow farming station in Australia has been dealing with many challenges because of the uncertain events occurred and has harmed the industry to a massive level.
- Clifton Hills is located in South Australia and is one of the top cow farms that are prone to the natural disasters. This cow farm has been a victim of the largest floods and the lands of the farm was seen to be flooded that caused the cow farm to lose 1500 square kilometers of the area.
- Alexandria, located in Northern Territory, Australia has dealt with heavy floods because of which the entire infrastructure of the farm was damaged. The natural disaster have led the farm to deal with insecure nutrient, decreased crop yield that have eventually led to an adverse impact on the cattle health.
- Davenport Downs, located in Queensland, Australia has also dealt with the largest flood spread over Queensland. The adverse affect of the flood led to an estimated loss of 5.1 billion by destroying 2.4 million livestock, mostly cows. Therefore, the cow farm had to experience massive loss because of the flood.
- Paula Grey’s cow farm, located in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, was threatened by fire and was emaciated by drought and inundated with floodwater. The impact of the natural disaster in this cow farm was severe that the overall loss was more than $200000.
Answers 2
Top five locations in Australia in which cows were severely damaged
The prevalence of natural disasters is widespread in the Australian subcontinent, and it is one of the leading causes of cattle loss. It is considered one of the most significant losses in the country as very few countries lose cows and other cattle to natural calamities. Calamities like bushfire, storms and floods are widespread in certain parts of Australia that are also famous for cow and other dairy farming resources (sl.nsw.gov.au, 2018). Natural disasters have significantly caused the loss of cattle and livestock in cows in Australia for a long time.
Location 1
The first location can be considered as the great drought that occurred between 1895 and 1903 when Australia lost half of the cattle that predominantly included cows. This is regarded as one of the most significant droughts of Australia and is also known as the federation drought. The drought almost damaged 40% of the entire livestock and cattle population of Australia and significantly damaged human lives as well. As per Virtue (2015) the drought predominantly captured New South Wales and the adjoining areas along with the Victorian region.
Location 2
The Hunter Valley floods of 1955 significantly caused an enormous loss of cows and livestock that created a significant impact on the agricultural economy of Australia. The Hunter Valley is a region of New South Wales that witnessed a devastating flood caused by torrential rains. According to Virtue (2015) an amount of 250 mm of rain was recorded in Nevertire and Dundeoo that caused the Hunter River to swell and drive one of the most devastating floods of New South Wales. The floods caused human casualties of 20 people.
Location 3
The floods of Queensland in 2010 and 2011 is also considered one of the most devastating floods of recent times that considerably affected the population of livestock in Australia. The floods brought many catastrophic effects on the cattle population of Australia and resulted in the loss of more than 50,000 cattle that mostly comprised cows. As per Haffenden (2020), record rainfall in 107 locations in Queensland initiated one of the worst floods in the Australian state that caused a considerable loss of cattle livestock. A few human lives were also lost in the flooding.
Location 4
New South Wales and Victorian floods of 2012 are also considered vital contributors to the loss of cattle and livestock in Australia. Devastating rains caused heavy flooding and inundations in various parts of NSW and Victoria as 16 river systems covering the two provinces have flooded. According to Rourke (2012), many people have been evacuated due to threats of rising water levels in residential areas, and a significant number of cattle losses were also reported in the floods.
Location 5
The bushfires of 2019 in Australia accounted for the most significant loss of cattle, particularly cows, which amounted to almost 100000. Australia has recorded many bushfires in the past, but the bushfire of 2019 was accounted as one of the worst-hit natural disasters in the history of Australia. As per McDonald (2020), the Australian government had estimated the loss of over 100000 cattle consisting mainly of cows and sheep and the loss of over millions of wild animals and birds, with some even facing extinction threats. The provinces of NSW and Victoria are the worst affected regions in the bushfire of 2019.
References
Dairyaustralia.com.au, (2021). Cow & Farms Data. [online] Dairyaustralia.com.au. Available at:
Haffenden, D. (2020, January 11). Looking back on the devastating Queensland floods of 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2021, from 7NEWS.com.au website: https://7news.com.au/news/qld/queensland-floods-of-2011-the-crisis-that-killed-33-people-and-devastated-communities-c-634419
McDonald, T. (2020, January 14). “It destroys you, mate, to shoot your own cattle.” BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51087273
Rourke, A. (2012, March 6). Thousands evacuate NSW towns as floods continue in Australia. Retrieved June 11, 2021, from the Guardian website: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/06/australia-floods-nsw-evacuate-wagga-wagga
Schroeder, E. (2021). Australian farmers reeling from natural disasters. [online] Farmer’s Weekly. Available at: https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-news/world/australian-farmers-reeling-from-natural-disasters/ [Accessed 11 Jun. 2021].
Sl.nsw.gov.au. (2018, November 29). Natural disasters. Retrieved June 11, 2021, from State Library of NSW website: https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/australian-agricultural-and-rural-life/natural-disasters
Virtue, R. (2015, February 20). Remembering the Hunter Valley flood sixty years on - ABC (none) - Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved June 11, 2021, from www.abc.net.au website: https://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/02/19/4182970.htm
