Silage making underway thanks to warm weather, but crops need more rain

FARMERS throughout Victoria are looking for more follow-up rain after a warm start to spring

Silage Making at Flynn. Adrian Nethercote & his father Ian, Contractors making Silage at Patrick Ferguson's dairy farm at Flynn.

FARMERS  throughout Victoria are looking for more follow-up rain after a warm start to spring.

Silage makers have swung into gear in Gippsland and parts of western Victoria in the past week — slightly earlier than usual — and grain growers in the Wimmera, Mallee and central regions are desperately hanging on for more rain.

Horsham consultant Rob Norton said the yield potential of crops had declined because of warm and windy weather over the weekend.

The mercury nudged 32.3C in Mildura and 29.9C in Horham on Monday.

“It is a bad combination for crops — wind takes out as much moisture as the warm temperature,” Mr Norton said.

“The season remains on a knife-edge very much throughout the grain growers areas, and the yield potential has fallen rapidly.”

There was some reprieve from the weekend’s warmth on Monday night, but the rain was not heavy in the state’s northwest.

Just 2mm fell at Birchip, Charlton had 5mm, Mildura received 0.8mm and Swan Hill recorded 0.4mm.

Horsham had 4mm, Bendigo 5mm, Stawell 11mm and Edenhope 3mm. Further south, Colac had 16mm, Warrnambool 6mm, Hamilton 7mm, Casterton 5mm and in Gippsland, Warragul had 15mm and Bairnsdale 4mm.

On Monday, Adrian and Ian Nethercote made silage for Patrick Ferguson at Flynn, near Traralgon.

It was the contractors’ first silage job for the season, a little earlier than normal and they expect to be in “full-swing” by the start of next month.

“It was an opportunity we saw because it’s the first few days above 20C in months,” Adrian said.