Producers pin their hopes on rain this Easter as season tightens

SOUTHEAST Australian farmers are hoping predicted rain for Easter will materialise.

Slow start: Bruarong dairy farmer John McAlister is hoping for Easter rain after North East Victoria’s dry March.

SOUTHEAST Australian farmers are hoping predicted rain for Easter will materialise.

The dry start to the year is in direct contrast to last year, when March rain produced the best autumn break many people had seen for decades.

But it’s been slim pickings to date this year.

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Albury recorded just 4.8mm for March, about 10 per cent of its usual 45mm.

Other centres down on March falls included Bendigo, which had 9mm of its normal 36mm, and Horsham, with 3.4mm compared with the normal 31mm.

Sale recorded 24mm in the past month or about half its usual March total, while Hamilton recorded close to its average of 35mm, with 29mm in the past four weeks.

North East Victorian dairy farmer John McAlister, from Bruarong, south of Yackandandah, said it had been dry over the past few weeks, but he was pinning his hopes on the weekend delivering rain.

“We will sow a bit of ryegrass in the hope that this is the start of the break, but will wait until we get decent ­follow-up before we start sowing perennial seed,” he said.

Mr McAlister said last year had delivered the best autumn break he had seen.

“I could do with a year like that every year, but we didn’t have a spring and some people say you don’t get two good seasons in a year (autumn and spring),” he said.

“I am hoping this later break means that we are going to get a big spring.”

But in the Riverina, the situation has become dire, with many producers around Hay now on full feeding regimes for their stock.

Hay recorded no rainfall in March, and following a lean 12 months, producers are now anxious for some falls.

Hay beef producer Ken Munn sold cattle at Wodonga last week and said only 175mm fell on his Naringa East station last year.

“The season is just terrible and I am down to just a hat-full of cows,” he said. “We would normally try to grow out cattle but you can’t do that if there is no feed.”