We know that change is created by drought. People leave our area for employment opportunities somewhere else. Graziers sell a large percentage of stock while trying to keep enough to regenerate their stock numbers while businesses in Armidale have less customers. It is a hard time that many of us have experienced.

"I am quite convinced carting water is not possible for stock that is why people sell out."

Anyone who has tried carting water to stock knows the time that is invovled in getting the water from its place of origin to the paddock. Farm work involves long hours independent of water cartage. The hardship is spread not only along the paddocks but also on the road.

"It's the same for people, as it is for stock," Sir Owen Croft said.

"Being a university town it is very important particularly in a time of drought. If we don't know how to manage the drought in the past there was very good communication between the academics and the local farmers. We did have very good relationship we had a meeting once a month for years these discussions were always about the exchange of information.

"The current drought makes all of us want to be wise now about what has happened here before perhaps we should have been more prepared," Sir Croft said.

It is the graziers, and the community that are asking for more strategic action and hopefully they may have friends that are academics with whom they can talk about, what do we do from here?

"I was on the NSW Rural Lands Pasture Protection Board for a long time. We had access to politicians and bureaucrats through the department of agriculture. This meant that we were all talking to each other fairly regularly. There were informal conversations between the academics on an individual basis, now there is less interest, in these connections being developed and maintained.

"I was on a committee that specifically was interested in helping the New England. The committee was in contact with the local University and schools.The academics at the university, educators with TAFE and the graziers had regular contact. Then when NSW wanted to improve animal health the New England was prepared with knowledge about what they all knew from each other . So in a way the New England region farmers did inform the rest of NSW.

"Armidale at that time and now, is far more progressive than it knows it is," Sir Owen Croft concluded.

"At the time we were dealing with animal health and pest animals. The local graziers wanted us to do something about foot rot it was causing a lot of trouble with our sheep. The Armidale Pasture Protection Board went to the state council where I was a member. Immediately any animal coming into the area had to be identified and protocols put in place to prevent the disease spreading.

"I am quite convinced carting water is not possible for stock that is why people sell out."

From 1945 to 1965 we had a the wettest period, high rainfall so we didn't do anything about water. In 1965 people say we must do something about water and grazing. Now this drought is very severe and I am not sure we could have done anything to help. In 1965 I ran out of water then only water in the creek and you cant cart water to stock. It takes too long to pump, its expensive, you have to carry it out of the creek in what? It's like a town once it runs out. It is a real problem.

Committees were form independent people from farming, university, private interests, museum we tried hard to get a cross section of interests in these discussions of land use, pest animals, water use, droughts and then we would report these findings to the minister but now influencing the strategic policy of water is very difficult.