Massive falls pummels northern NSW

Heavy rainfall in northern NSW and Queensland has been a mixed bag for farmers, topping up soil moisture for some, but stalling cotton picking for others.

Heavy downpours of up to 300mm of rain in northern NSW and Queensland are both a blessing and a curse for farmers.

The rain is perfectly timed and welcome for those wanting to top up soil moisture before sowing winter crops. However, soaking conditions have stalled cotton picking, and there are fears of downgrades to sorghum crops.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Armidale, NSW, has received 48mm in the past seven days; Guyra 40mm; Inverell 59mm; Bathurst 47mm; Barraba 46mm; and Dubbo 74mm.

In Victoria, Kyneton has received 159mm in the past seven days, Dunolly 54mm, Echuca 20mm, Mansfield 45mm, and Seymour 46mm.

Oscar Pearse of Moree, northern NSW, emptied 75mm from the gauge on Friday morning and was expecting more over the weekend.

“It is well and truly continuing,” he said.

“To the north of here, we have heard of isolated 300mm rainfalls within 10 days, and there has been some significant flooding.”

Mr Pearse said it was still early days for cotton picking, but the rain would delay picking.

“Cotton picking has started in central Queensland, and defoliation has started around Narrabri,” he said.

For farmers with sorghum crops ready to harvest, there were concerns about downgrades and damage.

“The rainfall has really hit the mature crops of sorghum … this is possibly going to hurt,” he said.

Most of the mungbean harvest around Moree had finished and Mr Pearse said those growers would be counting themselves lucky.

At Warren in NSW, 10mm of rain fell overnight on Thursday and 27mm on Monday.

Moree Farmer Oscar Pearse on his property near Moree. Picture: Paul Mathews

NSW Department of Primary Industries project officer, northern cropping systems, Penny Heuston of Warren, said the rain would slow cotton picking.

“The grain growers would be liking this rain but the cotton growers wouldn’t like it,” she said.

“Pickers are sitting at the end of the paddocks waiting to get onto the block.”

Warren has received 284mm of rain in 2024 so far, compared to an annual average of 193mm for this period.

The rain was anticipated to stall cotton picking by more than a week.

NSW DPI cereal pathologist at Tamworth, Steve Simpfendorfer, said the rain and storms were a double-edged sword for farmers.

“It’s not great for people with cotton and sorghum,” he said.

But it was welcome for livestock producers looking to boost pasture growth or those preparing to sow winter crops later this month.

“Everything has been patchy in this area so far,” he said.

The region received 60mm of rain three weeks ago, followed by up to 100mm in parts, yet other areas had lower falls of 20mm.

“It has been really hit and miss in this area,” he said.

Across the border and into Queensland there have been some heavy falls of rain, according to AgForce grains board president Brendan Taylor who farms 50km west of Dalby.

“There have been some bigger falls in the last couple of days with 20mm to 50mm in this area,” he said.

Mr Taylor grows sorghum and mungbeans as summer crops and will plant barley and chickpeas later this month.

“If there is a silver lining in all of this, it has given everyone a good soil moisture profile,” he said.

Mr Taylor said there had been falls of 70mm to 150mm in the regions around Condamine and Roma over the past couple of days.

“Some of these regions have had 300mm in 10 days,” he said.