FARMERS in northwest Victoria say this year’s autumn break has come at “exactly the right time”, as falls of between 30mm and 60mm were recorded across the state.
It was a welcome event for growers after disappointment in 2021 when the first substantial rain in the northwest did not occur until July, well into the growing season.
Swan Hill received 62mm by Wednesday 9am, while Ouyen recorded 42mm up to Tuesday morning. Further west, Mildura had 30mm by Wednesday morning, while Hopetoun and Werrimull recorded 53mm and 36mm respectively.
Dale Ramsey, who grows barley and wheat in Werrimull, said the autumn break had brought a sense of optimism to growers after last year.
“It brings a bit of positivity to the season,” Mr Ramsey said. “We had missed out on other rain, and we had it in the back our minds that maybe we would miss out again.”
The autumn break, which occurs when there is 25mm or more of rainfall in northwest Victoria, marks the traditional start of the sowing season, but farmers missed out in 2021 when rain did not arrive in time.
Werrimull recorded just 11mm during autumn in 2021, while Mildura received 13mm, Hopetoun had 18mm and Swan Hill received 22mm.
Clay Gowers, who grows legumes, barley and wheat at his family farm at Carwarp, said “timing” of this year’s rain gave him more certainty about what to expect this season.
Mr Gowers said the dry autumn in 2021 had left him feeling uncertain about his yield as he hoped for rain to come in time to produce plenty of seeds before the season got too hot.
“It gives a little bit of confidence (after last year) when you didn’t know when (crops) were going to come up,” Mr Gowers said. “We know now if we sow today, it will come up next week.”
The arrival of the autumn break has been a bit hit-and-miss for Werrimull farmer Ron Hards as April rains of 20mm or more had fallen only twice in the previous six years.
Mr Hards, who grows wheat, barley, oats and lentils on his Yarrarra farm, said this week was “exactly the right” time to allow for planting in the second half of April and early May.
“You can get your crops sowed before the ground gets cold,” Hards said. “And the crops can get their roots down to get the moisture before winter.
Mr Hards, who recorded between 28 and 32mm on his rain gauges, said he had heard some places had recorded up to 80mm of rain.
“This rain is the first time that I can remember that we’ve had a good general rain over a couple days across most of Victoria, stretching across to Bendigo.”
