By Esther Lauaki
John Lakey’s “dam” runneth over.
Heavy downpours in the past few months have transformed the Ingliston farmer’s dam from a barren, cracked creek bed to brimming oasis.
His 20 head of cattle, which each drink more than 50 litres of water a day, are just as happy.
Star Weekly spoke to Mr Lakey in 2016 in response to a Climate Council report that climate change was having serious consequences for Australia’s farmers.
At the time, Mr Lakey said the cattle were feeling the brunt of hotter weather and lower rainfalls, with the dam practically empty since 2013.
He’s more optimistic these days.
“I was very happy to see the dam filling up,” Mr Lakey said last week.
“I didn’t think in my lifetime that I’d see the b….y thing full.
“We had a reasonable dry winter and spring last year … now we’re shaping up to have a good, wet winter.
“We’ve had three good rain events this year, about 80 millimetres in December last year and about 55 millimeters fell on May 12, which washed my fences away. And we had another 60 millimeters in the past couple of weeks.
“This water is absolutely crucial for us … if we don’t have water in the dam, I can’t give water to the cattle.
“That water will keep us going for a while.”
Mr Lakey said he wanted to make his Ingliston farm self-sustainable.
David Martin, from the Bureau of Meteorology, said Melton recorded 60 millimetres of rain in May, which he said was above average for this time of year.
Mr Martin said Melton had also recorded above average rainfall since April with about 100 millimetres recorded.
“Im sure those living in more rural parts of Melton and Moorabool will be happy to see fuller dams and greener pastures,” he said.
“We have had quite a dry start to the year and this wet weather is trying to make up for those deficits.”
He said the wet spell wouldn’t last, with the outlook for coming months forecasting average to below average rainfall.
