Early February 2020 got pretty tough – we thought it couldn’t get any tougher, after the most severe 12 months we’d ever seen in our time at ‘Altjira’ Gunning. Farming can be a cruel game when you’re desperate for rain. We had a few extra cows on the ground because the conditions at ‘Wirrabilla’ Taralga were even worse. The ground cover was gone and the granite soils had turned to sand. The place was like the Simpson Desert. When we thought it couldn’t get any worse, the dust storms rolled in. While the rest of the State burned in the worst bush fires in history, we hunkered down.  Although it seemed there was nothing to burn, it was so hot and dry that nothing felt safe. We cleaned out the gutters on the homestead just in case.

Despite the terrible conditions, the cattle held on pretty well. The Fleckvieh/Angus cows really did quite an amazing job on their calves considering.