Rain has settled in for southern NSW and northern Victoria

Farmers are tallying up the rain and say recent falls will boost winter crops. See how much has fallen so far.

Spring rain could turn around what was looking like a dire season in some districts.

Southern NSW farmers have reported steady soaking rain overnight, and parts of northern Victoria have also benefited.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, farming districts in NSW, including Tumbarumba, have had 46.6mm overnight; Wagga Wagga 27.6mm; Holbrook 19.6mm and Junee 14.8mm. At Rutherglen in north-east Victoria, 11.6mm was recorded overnight, Winchelsea had 8.2mm, and farmers reported that the rain was settling in across parts of the state on Thursday.

Agronomist and farmer Don Kirkpatrick of Maxwell in southern NSW inspects a pasture crop. Picture: Nikki Reynolds

Mangoplah farmer and southern NSW agronomist Don Kirkpatrick said the rain was welcome, but for some, it was too late.

“Seriously, we had to see rain this week; we had to get a break,” he said.

Mr Kirkpatrick said the rain was beneficial for winter crops, pastures, and lucerne and would also help fill up water storage for livestock.

“At my place, we are up to 33mm from yesterday and today,” he said on Thursday morning.

“The modelling has been all over the place; from the forecast, we could have received 5mm to 40mm,” he said.

Ashley Fraser of Baker Seeds at Rutherglen. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Rutherglen farmer Ashley Fraser said 11.6mm had fallen in his area overnight, and it continued to rain on Thursday.

“We are welcoming it. It is nice steady rain that is just ideal,” he said.

Mr Fraser said the cropping regions still needed more follow-up rain to boost winter crops.

He spent Wednesday inspecting crops that had been hit by frost and said, fortunately, the damage was not as bad as initially thought.

“We are not seeing any damage at this point,” he said. It was a stark contrast to farmers closer to Wagga Wagga and Marrar, who had reported big yield losses from the frost.

WEDNESDAY

There are concerns that forecast wet weather over the next few days may not come to fruition for some parts of Victoria.

While farmers in the north and Gippsland have emptied some handy falls out of the gauge already, others have watched the rain clouds glide right past them.

Marshall Rodda of Tarranyurk. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Marshall Rodda of Tarranyurk said rain in his area was scarce.

“We were expecting 4mm to 20mm, depending on thunderstorms,” he said.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we see the 20mm,” he said.

Mr Rodda said crops were in desperate need of rain, and there was a real threat that daytime temperatures could get to 35C in the next three weeks.

“We really need a good finishing rain in this area, and if that arrives, the (crop) potential is there,” he said.

Western District farmer Anthony Mulcahy of Skipton said 5mm of rain fell at his place on Tuesday night.

“The rain has stopped here for now, (but) we were hoping for more,” he said.

Fortunately, his crops were not hit by frost, but he said it was dry and more rain was needed.

“We really need to see about 50mm,” he said.

Mr Mulcahy said his canola and wheat crops were looking dry.

Leonard Vallance of Ouyen. Picture: James Wagstaff

Leonard Vallance farms southeast of Ouyen and said he didn’t get any rain at all overnight.

“We didn’t even get a spritz,” he said.

Mr Vallance said rain was forecast in his area but the storms had gone past now.

“It is dry, and every day we hope to see some finishing rain,” he said.

He grows wheat and barley, which had already filled, while the wheat was starting to fill.

“Some cool weather and rain would be really handy right now,” he said.

South Australian farmer Richard Konzag of Mallala said his property received just 1.2mm of rain overnight, and hoped for more.

He said the farm had recorded 122mm of growing season rain and a total of 148mm for the calendar year.