‘On tenterhooks’: rice growers nervous as big season gets going

See how this year’s rice crop is faring after heavy rain and flooding in the Riverina.

The NSW Riverina is on track for its largest rice crop in five years, but growers say they are “on tenterhooks” as cooler weather threatens the crop’s fragile flowering period.

Moulamein rice grower and Sunrice chairman Laurie Arthur said Sunrice was expecting a crop of more than 600,000 tonnes this year – likely larger than the 623,000 tonne crop harvested in 2016.

“It’s been a strange season. It was a pretty cool start so (the crop) was delayed, but now with this hot weather and steamy weather it's coming along quite well,” Mr Arthur said.

“We’re all very hopeful of a good yield.”

But as the crop entered its flowering period, Mr Arthur said growers were “on tenterhooks”.

“If temperatures drop below 15 degrees centigrade during microspore, you start to get sterility in the florets,” he said.

Growers were especially on edge after a “one in 20 year cold snap” during last season’s flowering period caused sterility in some plants and dropped expected yields by about 30,000 tonnes, Mr Arthur said.

Murrami rice grower Scott Williams. Picture: Fiona Myers

For Murrami rice grower Scott Williams, heavy rain so far this season had been a “two-edged sword”.

“It lowers your water usage but on those overcast days the rice doesn’t grow as much as it could, so it can affect the yield,” he said.

Due to this season’s cooler weather Mr Williams sowed his crop in early November, at the end of the sowing window. He said he hoped a new variety he planted this year in 50 per cent of his paddocks - VO71 - would catch up quickly to make up for the slow start.

The Riverina has been hit with heavy rainfall and flooding this summer, with Griffith and Wagga Wagga both recording close to double their long term average January rainfall just halfway through the month.

In November, Wagga Wagga notched up 158.4mm, about three times its long term average.

Moulamein rice grower Jeremy Morton said rain this year meant full water allocations for growers. Picture: Supplied

Moulamein rice grower Jeremy Morton said the extra rain had filled storages, ensuring growers would have full water allocations this season.

“It’s looking very positive, and it sets us up well for next year as well,” he said.

“We’ve still got storages going up. Dartmouth Dam is still going up, Hume Dam is full, and storages in the Murrumbidgee catchment have also got plenty of water in them, so it’s fantastic.”

“The last time we had general allocations across the board was 2016, and that was a flood year,” he said.