I was having a nice visit with the proprietor of Family Meats in his butcher shop in Caloundra, Queensland. His specialties included chopped beef and kidney pie makings, BBQ ronelli and lamb loin chops for A$16.99 a kilo. A sign at the counter said, “Antibiotic and Hormone Free!”

This last winter and spring drought stalked its way down through the sandhills of Nebraska, across Kansas and Oklahoma, stopped long enough to torch the Texas panhandle, scorched New Mexico, then drove a stake in the heart of Arizona’s rangeland.