A photo taken from a drone showing a deliberately lit burning field. While many farmers have started sowing new crops directly onto the old stalks for environmental reasons in recent years others have reverted to burning the stubble to clear the land, in the hope that the mice will have less stubble to eat and use as shelter. In 2021, farming areas in southeastern, southern and western Australia faced a massive infestation of mice which ruined millions of dollars worth of crops and animal feed.