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"So we've got a bit of moisture in here just to keep the plants going, where they're planting down there, we've put some moisture in for the seedlings. But we've got to repeatedly water at a time where we normally wouldn't be watering. So it's just making life hard. You water every day for 18 months, it gets on top of you real quick when you're not used to that."
Ben Pohlner is in the middle of a region of Victoria currently experiencing its driest 24 months on record.
His organic farm called Volcano Produce sits in the foothills of an ancient volcano, which usually has dark, fertile soil all year round.
Now it's yellow and dusty, with his crops barely growing to half the size they normally would.
"We've faced some really significant challenges over the past 18 months, especially over the summer period where especially over the summer period, we haven't had enough water to irrigate properly. We've got plenty of water during a normal season, but during a really dry season we've found it exceptionally difficult and we've never faced anything like this before."
Some of his crops had to be ploughed back into the soil, as they were too bitter to be sold.
Mr Pohlner says it's resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in financial losses.
"We've been down here since 2008, living in Warrnambool, every year this whole countryside has just been green and lush. For the first four years we've been living on this farm, it was just green, lush, during winter it was just mud everywhere. That mud is fantastic because it fills up that soil profile with moisture, and that gets you through that summer period. We've been irrigating here for 18 months straight. Normally we'd only irrigate for two or three weeks in a year, so that's just an illustration of just how little rain we've had, and how this drought is impacting on us."
Nearby, dairy farmer Chloe Brown is riding a utility vehicle through one of her paddocks.
The mother-of-two is grappling with the prospect of grazing paddocks baked dry and devoid of fodder - for her 180 head of jersey cows.
"We've had really hard seasonal conditions for a good 18 months, and it's not looking like it's going to change in the next couple, at least. This is the lowest I've ever seen. My father-in-law who's been here for 60 years, it's the lowest he's ever seen, rainfall."
Like many other dairy farmers in the region, Mrs Brown has had to buy in grain and hay, at a financial cost that has had a flow-on impact.
"We're not spending as much in local communities, our small businesses are struggling, all those rural supply stores. The flow on is really quite enormous when you start talking community. We're all struggling on farm. Most of my time is spent milking, feeding, milking, feeding, milking, feeding, and then worrying about cash flow, so I don't have spare time to then go and volunteer at the footy club, but they're the things we actually kind of need."
United Dairy Farmers of Victoria President, Bernard Free, says the costs have kept rolling in for farmers to keep their cows alive and their dairies running.
"A lot of the old timers talk about 1967 and a few people have compared it to another year in the early 1900s as well, so it's pretty exceptional if you've gotta go back that far to get two similar sort of years."
Especially for newcomers to the industry, he says this drought can have significant mental impacts.
"The mental health of farmers sort of goes downhill when everyone's just telling them 'oh it's just dry'. It's not dry, it's a drought and you need to be honest and fair dinkum to farmers."
He's calling for governments to step up to the plate to assist farmers, with interest subsidies on their loans as they battle the drought.
And with candidates vying for votes in the upcoming election, producers like Ben Pohlner say the campaign offers the chance to highlight their concerns.
"So far what I've seen, the drought hasn't really been taken seriously by either of the two main candidates. I'm a bit disappointed in that. It will be a major issue if it doesn't start raining soon."
Their electorate of Wannon is bigger than Belgium, spanning from the outskirts of Geelong in its east, taking in coastal towns along the famous Great Ocean Road, and farming communities all the way to the South Australian border.
It's been safe Liberal Party territory ever since former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser first won it in 1955.
But a community independent movement around former radio host Alex Dyson is growing increasingly confident it can flip Wannon for the first time in 70 years.
"This would be one of the biggest upsets in the Australian political landscape and yeah, we're very much still coming from behind in this instance, but it's those everyday conversations and the effort that the volunteers who frequent this hub here as well as going out and talking to locals about what their concerns are and feeding it back to me so that I can advocate for it, it's those little conversations and those everyday moments that are going to make the result happen if it does get there."
He lists the state of Wannon's crumbling roads as a key concern for voters, as well as access to healthcare, childcare and aged care.
His opponent is the incumbent Liberal Party M-P Dan Tehan.
He's held numerous ministerial roles in past Coalition governments, while he says he's continued to deliver for his electorate.
Asked about his independent challenger, Mr Tehan isn't complacent.
"Every election campaign that I've fought has been different and has its challenges, and obviously with this one, Labor, the Greens and the Teals are about putting up a big fight, a well-funded fight from Climate 200 but for me, with every election campaign it's just been to make sure you focus on running a good, positive campaign yourself."
The crowd-funded Climate 200 group- that's the group behind to so-called Teal M-Ps in parliament- as well as the Regional Voices fund, have made sizeable contributions to Alex Dyson's campaign effort.
But Mr Dyson says he's been transparent, pointing to the roughly 1,500 individual donors publicly listed on his website.
He also dismisses the label of Teal Independent, saying he's been running before that term even existed.
And on the prospect of being elected in a hung parliament, he won't say if he’s leaning towards supporting a minority Labor or Coalition government.
"Absolutely not, I’m so excited though, that finally the people of Wannon, the community here in southwest Victoria, will be in a position where both leaders will have to listen to our concerns. You see every election time, they zoom around the country on their jets. In the last 70 years apart from when Malcolm Fraser the member here, the leaders of the parties were rarely seen in these parts, and now they're going to be negotiating with someone who's there as the voice of the community."
But Dan Tehan says this election is a chance to continue representing the people of Wannon.
"You can make sure that you still continue to get outcomes. My hope is we're in government and I'll be able to deliver because that's the best way you do it, but you always fight for your electorate whether you're in government or you're in opposition."
Back on Ben Pohlner's produce farm - there's one key issue.
"If we don't get significant rains over this winter, come early December and throughout the beginning of 2026, there is going to be dire financial hardship in this region."
And, regardless of who wins on the 3rd of May, that's one that will be out of the control of politicians.
