Drought sucks life from Argentina's farms

After the rains dried up in March last year, 800,000 head of cattle have died

A lone cow crosses the dry bed of the once-mighty Salado river
A deflated bag of bones, the carcass of a bull, lies dried out on the banks of a river, baked by the sun. Normally green, the prime pastureland around lies silent and dry.

This is San Miguel del Monte, a little over 100km (60 miles) south of Buenos Aires, in the Argentine pampas, the vast grasslands that roll out like an inner sea across thousands of kilometres.

The Salado river, which supplies the local ranches, is now a small stream. Large carp leap desperately in the shallows, trying to find deeper water.

A long-running drought, the worst in 50 years, has exacted a heavy toll and even a brief break in the weather in some areas was unlikely to alleviate the situation.