Murray Darling Basin

WAKOOL, NSW, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 11: Malcom Adlington moves his cows from the paddock near his home to his non-working dairy barn 10 kilometers away March 11, 2008 in Wakool, New South Wales, Australia. When the Adlingtons water allocations dropped to zero, they had to sell off their dairy cows because they would have no means to grow the feed needed to keep them producing milk. They also put their farm up for sale and each took jobs in town to support their family. Wakool is one of many towns that have been hit hard economically by the drought with 0% water allocations. Most farmers here have not had a decent crop since before 2001. The general store has had its earning reduced by over 50% and the number of dairy farm families has been reduced from 17 to 4. The Murray-Darling Basin has been plagued with severe drought since the late 1990s and many growers and policy makers are being forced to find and implement more efficient irrigation systems. (Photo by Amy Toensing/Getty Images)