Balchig Baljinnyam, a small-time farmer in central Mongolia, is busy building a shelter for his dairy cows ahead of what is expected to be the most brutal winter in years. A summer drought has already cut traditional sources of fodder for his herd.

It will be a double whammy for Mongolia this year. Its mining sector, which accounts for 17 per cent of the economy, is in shambles due to weak commodity prices. Now the farm sector is in trouble. The drought has wiped out up to 80 per cent of its wheat crop and up next could be the worst winter in six years.

Hard times on the steppe: drought and prospects of a tough winter ahead. Credit:AP

Mass animal deaths due to a freezing winter, locally known as a "dzud", in a predominantly pastoral country would only make a bad situation worse. In 2009-2010, Mongolia lost 20 per cent of its livestock to the dzud, the World Bank estimates.

"It's not a drought, it's a catastrophe," said Davjigbold Ariunbold, the owner of a farm around 110 kilometres southwest of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, near Baljinnyam's setup.