Acute water shortage puts Austrian agriculture in trouble

GENEVA

Agriculture is in trouble, while animals are having a hard time finding natural water sources in Austria's mountain pastures, the public broadcaster ORF reported Friday.

Some families fear having to abandon their farms, some of which are centuries old, because of the lack of water, ORF reported.

An organic farm in the Nockeberg mountains in the province of Carinthia, located at 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) above sea level with a view of Lake Millstatter See, has three springs, with two of them barely able to supply water, the report said.

When grazing, the animals have to travel long distances to get water, the owner of the farm told the broadcaster. The farm is around 300 years old, and whether it will get much older is currently questionable, the owner added.

According to the report, Austria's mountainous region, of all places, is threatened by a thinning out of alpine farming. Instead of a hot alpine summer, farmers are hoping for lots of rain.

Although Austria saw rainfall in mid-April after a long dry spell, there was up to 85% less precipitation during the dry spell than the multi-year average, data by the institute Geosphere Austria showed.

The water shortage could worsen in the future due to climate change, especially in eastern Austria, where a particularly large number of people live, according to the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna.

GENEVA

Agriculture is in trouble, while animals are having a hard time finding natural water sources in Austria's mountain pastures, the public broadcaster ORF reported Friday.

Some families fear having to abandon their farms, some of which are centuries old, because of the lack of water, ORF reported.

According to the report, Austria's mountainous region, of all places, is threatened by a thinning out of alpine farming. Instead of a hot alpine summer, farmers are hoping for lots of rain.