2mm of rain delays harvest in NSW Riverina, but farmers still on track

RIVERINA farmer Charlie Taylor reckons the Bureau of Meteorology radar website should have blown up by now.

Charlie Taylor takes a break from harvest near Corowa, NSW, after 2mm of rain.

RIVERINA farmer Charlie Taylor reckons the Bureau of Meteorology radar website should have blown up by now.

He, and “hundreds or thousands of other farmers”, had his eyes glued to his phone watching weather fronts move across the region last night.

Mr Taylor, his brother, George, and his crew, including Scott McKillop, Victor Clifton and contractor Mark Bright, were up harvesting until 3am this morning.

They have only had 2mm of rain today but are carefully watching a front to the west.

If the rain stays away, Mr Taylor will harvest again tomorrow and could even be finished by the end of the week.

“We are running about two weeks earlier than normal,” he said.

Three massive, 1500-tonne silos have allowed the harvest to continue without waiting in silo queues to unload trucks.

One of the silos is full of canola and another is full of wheat. The third will be filled with wheat by the end of harvest.

The Taylors hope to get the two headers back onto the paddocks as soon as possible.