Victoria’s late-season rain brings much-needed relief to struggling crops and pastures

Victorian farmers have welcomed vital late-season rain, with forecasts promising more to boost crops and pastures after a dry spell. Relief is finally on the way.

Farmers are celebrating the recent rain and the forecast for more, calling it the vital late-season break Victoria desperately needed.

Falls of up to 30mm are forecast over the coming days and will add to some totals of up to 51mm recorded in the past seven days.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the following Victorian regions have recorded notable rainfall totals in the past seven days: Portland received 51mm, Cape Nelson 48mm, Mongans Bridge 41mm, Charnwood 39mm, Upper Buckland 38mm, Kinglake 37mm, Port Fairy 35mm, Dartmoor 33mm, Blackwood 32mm, Dohertys 31mm, Woodend 30mm, Jamieson 28mm, Strathbogie North 28mm, Warrenbayne 28mm, Berringama 26mm, Daylesford 26mm, Mansfield 25mm, Osbornes Flat 23mm, Nullawarre 22mm, Waterford Park 22mm, and Greta South 21mm.

Crops are performing well after recent rain and there is more on the way. Picture: Zoe Phillips

In NSW, there were welcome falls too, with Mullumbimby 51mm, Nimbin 51mm, Barraba 39mm, Drake 34mm, Emmaville 34mm, and Armidale 35mm.

Marshall Rodda of Tarranyurk said the rain was a wonderful change.

“Every time they forecast it, we are getting a few more mm than what is predicted, and that is absolutely magnificent,” he said.

“The crops are coming up pretty good, and I’ll call this a later break, as long as we can keep getting rain into spring.

“Maybe it’s a very late break in our grain growing areas, but I’ll take it.”

Mr Rodda measured 5mm in the gauge on Wednesday morning but was confident there was more to come.

“We could see anywhere from 10mm to 30mm from Friday to Sunday, and that will be fantastic if we get it,” he said.

Mr Rodda said there were grazing areas that were still struggling, but crops were doing better than could be expected.

“We are seeing some patchy germination in early-sown canola crops,” he said.

Malcolm Holm of Blighty in southern NSW said before the recent rain there was a lack of soil moisture. Picture: Dale Webster

At Blighty in southern NSW, dairy farmer Malcolm Holm said he had received 13mm in the past few days.

“There is more rain forecast and we really need it,” he said.

“Before this, any crops that were dryland were really starting to feel it because there was no subsoil moisture; it had just been surface moisture,” he said.

Mr Holm said 20mm to 30mm forecast, and it was desperately needed.

“Ideally, we need rain in the catchment too to fill dams,” he said.