Rain arrives just in time at Tom and Jenny Small’s St Arnaud farm

TOM and Jenny Small’s farm was almost completely parched before 50mm thundered down last week.

NEWS Weather

TOM and Jenny Small’s farm was almost completely parched before 50mm thundered down in just a couple of hours last week.

It came in the nick of time.

The St Arnaud farm had been hit by the worst drought in 12 years and the Smalls were preparing to shear many of their remaining wool-growing sheep last week, then sell them.

Last year, their farm received less than half its annual rainfall.

“We were desperate before the rain,” Tom said. “We had three half-full dams and a salty bore, and were carting water on a 30km round trip ... (which) just is not economically viable.”

They had been handfeeding since October and by November, when The Weekly Times last visited, had destocked a third of the property.

But last week’s total of 66mm, enough to fill their 60 farm dams, means they can put the brakes on destocking.

READ MORE: Drought gone full circle

“My Dad (Bryan Small) died just before Christmas,” Tom said. “I like to think that he was up there saying ‘little bit to the left, little bit to the right, yep, just there’.”

Tom and Jenny will now sell just a few sheep.

And while the dams are full, Tom said he was under no illusion the green feed would last through.

But, feeding stock is “easy street”, compared with running out of water, he said.

“(This rain) takes the pressure right off. Feeding stock is the easy part.”

READ MORE: Rain boosts confidence