[xelasnave]

Hi Rom

So glad I find you in a positive mood.

The problem with the Snowy as I understand it was it's two fold objective ..that of a power generation plant and the key to irrigation on the West of the range.
But rather than looking at what we did wrong perhaps we could look at what we did right, improve and use the expertise and natural resources to do better next time.
There are ways to maintain a river even when you put in a dam.
And Hydro power is very sensible... Irrigating deserts to produce food or rather cotton and yet plant BS forrests on prime flood plain land on the coastal strip perhaps not such a great idea after all...but as we know the plantation timber could be called a scam in retrospect.

Leave out part two of the snowy and the river would have survived...hydro was never the problem trying to change where the river has always gone was the problem.

I do not see how you can blame farmers for reacting in the only way possible given the dictates of a market economy. The market economy demands you produce more this year than last year and with a lower profit margin...Farmers produce our food have you forgot that? Sure we need regulation that first takes pressure off so they can look after the land.
City folk have no idea just how caring farmers and country folk are about the land..no idea whatsoever but happy to build strawmen unrepresentative of farmers in general.
Farmers hate to over graze that is a fact...they are not as stupid as the strawman city folk construct.

So what meat did you eat last week..not any cows I hope.

If you want to blame anyone perhaps blame the government for not stepping in..shouldnt be too difficult to legislate to guide farming practice to your satisfaction.
...and of course the government is you, me and the next guy...but the pressure comes from Coles and Woolies who screw down prices, to make city folk happy, resulting in farmers having to become tugger on their land management.

Farmers are simple folk and feed you, me and everyone in the country, supermarkets buy that food from farmers and places that process farm products...and without agriculture humans would never have achieved civilization ...farmers permit the rest of us to play at life and not go out each day to hunt protein...or waste out time producing carbohydrates etc... and so perhaps rather than treat farmers with such contempt may I suggest an approach that puts forward a solution rather than a useless spray of negative prattle.
I may have to amend my words as I have yet to read your link which I now thank you for providing.
Thanks for contributing..it's great to have you in the thread.
Alex

I read the link.
Stuff the farmers sure but put aside money for the arts and all the other little drains on the tin I guess.
The first comment re dams being no more than a hole in the ground...and here I cite personal hands on experience...as I said I am selling water to a guy..his dams are dry but my dams still have water...what this tells me is..if there were only one dam..his..the trees would now be dead...but with two dams, and the same amount of rain the result is more water...it's like money in the bank..the more you have the longer you can go between injections of income..more dams would seem very sensible.
Alex