#armidale

The central bank has warned the drought is weighing on Australia’s economic growth. The value of farm production is forecast to decline by 5% to A$59 billion ($40.4 billion) in 2019–20. There is already a steep daily cost to farmers, towns and governments that are paying to truck-in water that usually drops freely from the sky. Farmers in the Armidale area are now paying well in excess of A$250 ($169) to bring in 10,000 litres of drinking-quality water, which is almost double the cost of pre-drought prices.