Australia grain areas may suffer drier than average weather

Australia may have drier than average weather for the next three months in some southeastern farming regions as growers prepare to sow wheat, barley and rapeseed.

There is a 60-75 percent chance of below average rainfall in a region extending across northwest South Australia, southwest New South Wales, most of Victoria and northern Tasmania from April to June, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Farmers rely on rain in those months to help sow winter crops, especially after years of drought in certain regions.

There is a moderate to strong shift in the odds favoring drier than normal conditions over much of South Australia, Victoria and northern Tasmania, the Bureau said in its three-month outlook statement.

In contrast, there will be a 70 percent chance of above average rainfall in eastern and northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland, while there will be a 40-60 percent chance of average rain in the Western Australian grain-growing region, the Bureau said.