Australia Weather News

Farmers in the northern cropping zone have had the mixed blessings of rain in harvest, creating headaches but possibly setting the scene for a good summer cropping season. - ABC

Farmers are facing mixed blessings from rain and unseasonably hot days in October and November.

The wet finish to harvest and early hot weather has created some interesting conditions for farmers in the northern cropping region this season.

Andrew McFadyen is an agronomist and manager with Paspaley Pastoral Company near Coolah, in the central-west of New South Wales.

He is also a member of the Northern Region Advisory Panel for Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

Mr McFadyen said the wet weather and spate of hotter days had handed many growers a double-edged sword.

"Here at Coolah we were far enough east that it did not affect our crop maturity and development," he said.

"So it didn't affect our grain in terms of downgrading and reducing weight.

"However, as a GRDC panellist, and looking more widely across the region, then I think we were seeing issues further west."

Mr McFadyen said post-harvest weed activity was a big problem and he urged farmers to get on top of weeds early.

"But with storm rain, and that's falls anywhere between 80 and 150 millimetres of rain, that's put a lot of moisture into the soil profile.

"So for example, my experience here at Coolah is that it has allowed 100 per cent of the long fallow summer crop to be planted.

"But, having said that, we do have a big issue with weeds leading into the next fallow in the rotation."

Mr McFadyen said the rain during harvest had coincided with a very widely publicised El Nino forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology, and noted that La Nina is predicted toward the end of summer.

"Farmers give the Bureau's predictions quite a bit of credence, because it is the one guide that we have to go off," he said.

"I know, for myself, I have nearly every weather model known to man, and some that are dark science that doesn't exist, but we do give it some credence.

"We probably get optimistic and get let down at times, and we probably get pessimistic, but it's the best guide we can use at the moment," Mr McFayden said.

"I think the short-term forecasts are pretty good.

"But the long-term forecasts — because there is so much variance in rainfall and high intensity rainfall with storms — can cause a lot of grief and false hope with growers as well."

ABC