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Farming is a tough job on a good year, but even harder when facing severe drought. So, what happens when your livelihood depends on rain that just doesn’t come?
‘When it doesn’t rain it’s pretty challenging. So, in a year like this where we have, you know, about a third of our annual rainfall, you just can’t grow enough feed or crop to sustain the bank.’
‘There’s an inherent risk that’s in farming that’s not in other jobs. I mean, in some ways it’s like any business where there’s that inherent risk. But with agriculture it’s like at a whole different level.’
Hear Tim Paschke and John Gladigau, farmers from rural South Australia, share about the realities of farming during serious drought, and where they find hope when year after year the rain doesn’t fall.
Key takeaways from this episode
- Farmers like Tim and John are enduring multiple consecutive years of severe drought, leading to major financial and emotional strain.
- Extreme winds and fragile soils have caused major paddock damage, erosion, and fence destruction.
- The cost of farming has risen sharply while grain prices remain similar to 1983, making it hard to stay financially viable.
- Many farmers feel pressure to give up, sometimes because banks stop supporting them.
- Farming is deeply tied to identity—“it is your everything”—making leaving extremely difficult.
- Faith is a key source of strength; farmers rely on trusting God when outcomes like rain or frost are outside their control.
- Farmers openly admit to wrestling with God during repeated hardship, but see it as part of normal faith life.
- Community support matters most through understanding, choosing Australian‑grown produce, and simply checking in with farmers.
- Prayer and handing over worries to God help farmers cope, bringing a sense of peace despite uncertainty.
- Sharing stories is important—farmers don’t want pity but want people to understand both the joys and challenges of farm life.
- Farmers find hope in creation: sunrises, sunsets, stars, and new growth remind them of God’s presence and provision.
- Farming brings deep joy through watching a seed transform into a harvest and experiencing the rhythms of the seasons.
Episode transcript
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Related booklet
Suffering happens all around us. Sometimes it comes in the form of a natural disaster; other times it’s a form of terror brought on by humans. Sometimes suffering is fuelled by economic or medical conditions; at other times it appears randomly. Suffering can happen on a global scale, within a specific community, or be limited to an individual. Suffering comes in so many forms, but they all drive us back to that age-old question, ‘Where’s God in All of This?’