Southeast Australian crop lands still dry, rains to north

Winter crop lands in Southeast Australia remained mostly dry Tuesday (April 14), failing to receive similar rainfall that drenched northern New South Wales and southern Queensland in recent days, according to data issued by the government's Bureau of Meteorology.

Little rain was reported to have fallen in the 24 hours ended Tuesday morning on parched wheat lands of the Riverina region in southwest New South Wales, or the lower western region of the state, Victoria and South Australia states, the data show.

Graingrowers in these areas are keen for good autumn rainfall to allow for planting of winter crops, including wheat, barley and canola, after several years of drought-reduced production, which has cut national export availability.

Farmers in these areas typically plant winter crops in May and June.

Large areas of winter crop lands in these areas received below average rainfall in the calendar first quarter, compounding the impact on annual data, which show that in the 12 months ended March 31, "rainfall was well below average across the southeast of the continent," according to an official analysis issued Thursday.

Further north, though, some heavy rains fell in the southwest slopes region of New South Wales, with Grenfell town receiving 63 millimetres and Cootamundra town 36 mm in the 24 hours ended Tuesday morning, with many falls in the 10-25 mm range, according to the bureau's data on Tuesday.

In central and northern New South Wales, widespread, and in places heavy, rainfall will encourage early planting of winter crops, such as canola, with Coonabarabran receiving 22 mm in the latest period, Forbes 18 mm and Narromine 39 mm, the data show.

Grain growers in central and northern New South Wales and in Queensland now are generally working with full soil moisture profiles after good rains earlier in the year and now will be looking to start planting crops.