SA farmers celebrate as widespread rain waters crops and fills reservoirs
Farmers are smiling as their grain crops put on weight thanks to the soaking weekend rains.
SA News
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Grain farmers are watching their crops plump up thanks to widespread rains over the weekend which promise a good finish to the season.
Most areas did well, including pastoral country which is recovering from the drought and looking better for livestock.
City reservoirs are fuller than at this time last year which will reduce costs for SA Water of pumping from the Murray.
Grain Producers SA chair Adrian McCabe said most farmers welcomed the rain.
“It should be very good for legumes which are high value,” he said.
“But it is a bit mixed, depending on where you are in the growing cycle – it’s not great for the hay growers on the west coast who’re just getting their headers going.”
Mr McCabe said SA would need to export most of the grain with little domestic demand from interstate following excellent growing conditions in NSW.
“That’ll be a change from the past few years,” he said.
Tumby Bay farmer Dion LeBrun said the season was looking good.
“I think nearly every farmer will be happy, they’re timely rains at the end of the season when we need it,” he said.
“It’ll get a lot of people’s crops over the line.”
The LeBruns grow wheat, barley, canola, lentils and beans as well as running sheep.
“Everything’s in grain-fill at the moment so it’s important they get plenty of water,” he said.
“With this moisture it’ll be good.”
Livestock SA chief executive Andrew Curtis said the impact was good but mixed.
“For those having a reasonable season it’s really good, it’s the right amount and everything,” he said.
“But for those having a dry season, it’s tantalising.”
The South-East, particularly the lower reaches, were having a very good year and stock numbers were strong.
“But they’re light in the pastoral country, where we’re hoping they’re coming out of three or four years of drought,” he said.
“The rains are good because we want the feed to get away so people can think about getting stock back on country.”
One uncertainty for graziers was the travel restrictions on New Zealand shearers, which could leave unshorn sheep exposed to flies if the summer was wet or humid.
Metropolitan reservoirs are 69 per cent full compared to 60 per cent at the same time last year.
The three biggest, Mt Bold, South Para and Myponga were at 69 per cent, 55 per cent and 96 per cent respectively.
Some 777 megalitres flowed into metropolitan reservoirs in the 24 hours to 8am on Monday, including 384ML into Mt Bold.
The Bureau of Meteorology said rainfall totals of 10mm to 30mm were common in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday.
“It was pretty broad, there was rainfall over much of the state,” senior forecaster Tom Boeck said.
The north east missed out on Sunday but got rains on Monday.
The highest gauging was 47.4mm at Victor Harbor while there was 45.4mm at Cleve and 45mm at Port Vincent.
Adelaide recorded 22.6mm, Mount Gambier 17.8mm, Loxton 4.8mm and Kingscote 29.6mm.
The bureau expects more rain on Wednesday for central and eastern parts of SA.
“There’ll be a burst of showers or rain then, easing on Thursday and then following that for Friday and into the weekend it looks mostly dry,” Mr Boeck said.
While SA got wet, snow fell at Mt Hotham and Falls Creek in Victoria on Monday, just a day after parts of that state nearly reached 40C.