Sheep feed and drink in barren paddocks on farmer Stephen Rolfe's property near the Southern ...
Sheep feed and drink in barren paddocks on farmer Stephen Rolfe's property near the Southern Tablelands town of Cooma. Sheep feed and drink from a small tank in barren paddocks on farmer Stephen Rolfe's property near the Southern Tablelands town of Cooma July 24, 2004. Rolfe's property of over 4000 acres remains in the grip of yet another dry year after being decimated in 2002 by Australia's worst drought in a century, with 87.3 percent of the state of New South Wales still drought-declared. Recent studies by Australian scientists have identified weather patterns that lead to restricted rainfall over a long period, with evidence in previous centuries that this long wet-dry-wet hydrological cycle has applied to large parts of Australia. Picture taken July 24, 2004. REUTERS/David Gray