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Drought hurting south Australia farmers

ADELAIDE, Australia, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Farmers in southern Australia say a major drought caused by an ongoing heat wave is threatening their crops.

Dairy farmer Don Llewelyn, one of those struggling through the heat wave, said farmers are struggling to make due with declining water supplies from the Murray River, which ends near Adelaide in the state of South Australia, Britain's Sky News reported Friday.

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"Everybody else gets their share as it comes down, we're at the back end," Llewelyn said, referring to the upstream use of the river's water by residents of Queensland and New South Wales.

Richard Reedy, a leader in the surrounding community, said the dwindling water supplies and intense temperatures have resulted in farmers going out of business.

"We've actually got pressure growing from the banking system that they can't see any end in sight, so maybe it's time for people to think about alternative farming away from these regions," Reedy said.

Temperatures in the Australian state have topped 95 degrees for five straight days, Sky News said Friday.

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