Cropping farmers holding out for rain this weekend

Handy April rain has boosted spirits for grain and cropping farmers across north east Victoria. See how this weekend’s forecast is shaping up.

It will be all hands on deck when sowing starts on Thursday for north-east Victorian farmer Andrew Russell.

Earlier this week, Andrew’s property at Lilliput received a handy 8.5mm of rain, and he is expecting falls of around 20mm this weekend.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Rutherglen could receive 20mm this weekend and another 5mm on Monday, and across the boarder in NSW Finley is forecast to receive up to 20mm on Friday followed by 5mm on Saturday.

It’s enough to instil some confidence in the lead-up to winter sowing.

Andrew uses knife points and press wheels to sow and said the rain earlier this week was considered “mid-range.”

“Some people got more rain earlier this week, and some got less,” said Andrew, who is also chairman of the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s southern region.

“If we get the follow-up this weekend, we might be able to have a bit of a crack at winter cropping.”

Andrew will start with some long-season winter wheat when he enters the paddock to sow.

Andrew Russell, prepares for sowing at Lilliput. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

The rotation consists of wheat, canola, some faba beans, and a legume pasture phase.

Andrew said the timing of the rain and autumn break were big things. But he conceded farmers could not control the weather and had to take what comes.

“We have put a lot of lime and gypsum out and I feel like we are ready,” he said.

Meanwhile, southern NSW and Victorian farmers have been burning off crop stubbles from last year to prepare for sowing.

It has been a multi-pronged approach, with some farmers doing it to break the disease cycle and others focusing on reducing heavy loads of trash left over from harvest.

“We have burnt some stubble, but not all. It is just another tool in our toolbox, and it is a good way to help control disease,” Andrew said.

“We don’t want to overdo it, and we want to keep some biomass.”

The property is 80 per cent cropping and 20 per cent trade lambs.

The livestock operation also helps in terms of grazing off stubble.