国家地理-2008-09-08 澳洲农业每况愈下（在线收听）

In Australia, it’s not just livestock hit hard by draught, but the next generation of farmers. At 24, Robert Watt, a farmer from Alectown, a region of Australia, has had seven seasons on the farm, but not one year of profit. He says the draught, plus a sharp spike in farming costs, has left a generational hole on farms.

“A lot of my mates have gone off farm, off farms and get the quick buck at the mine. And it's not usually by, by choices. It's...they're forced to, cos, uh, when they make a living, yeah.”

He says most young people have considered selling out, and explains that the prospect of not earning any money could eventually push him to leave as well.

“The only reason I would leave the land is the finance, the pressure of not being able to get a wage at the end of the week and do what you like with it.”

Robert has joined other young farmers at a meeting in Sydney recently, to work out ways to get more people back on the land. And some say farm finance is the key. Sam Gunn, the chairman of the Young Farmers’ Committee, says that encouraging young people to get the “first farm buyers” grant is important to help them get back into farming.

“And we’re just saying that, you know, people getting back and that encouraging young people back into farming if they get that first farm buyers grant, I really think it would be a step in the right direction to getting people back on the land.”

The farmers who stay on the land face new challenges. They have to manage with less rain, and decide which crops suit the changing conditions. Robert also says there is potential in agriculture to make some money, but external conditions such as the weather are elements that can’t be anticipated and controlled.

“Yeah, there’s definitely potential in agriculture. The, the, the price of the commodity at the moment is quite, quite good. It just depends if, if the weather comes our direction and we can crack a crop and some, some decent seasons for the livestock as well, we could, we can make a bit of money. It’s obviously out of our control.”

A spike in: a sudden large increase in the number or rate of something

Leave a hole (on) in: to use a large part of an amount of money, food etc

Get the quick buck: to make some money quickly

By choice: If you do something by choice, you do it because you want to do it and not because you are forced to do it

Work out: to find a solution for

Decent: proper, satisfactory