Two areas in the Western Australia southern grain belt have been declared water deficient by the State government.
The declaration is the first in 8 years for anywhere in the State as the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has begun to cart water to farmers as a last resort, so they can get water to their remaining livestock.
For some areas, record low rainfall has been seen in parts of the State over the past 12-16 months, with the last significant rainfall event being severe flooding at the beginning of 2017 for some farms.