Record rainfall throughout June has seen fuller dams and a positive outlook for growth in Spring however farmers are being urged to remain vigilant for the remainder of the cold weather.
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June 2016 saw 143ml of rain fall in the Young and Boorowa area, beating the 1998 record of 142.6ml.
Local agronomist Paul Parker says it has been the wettest winter for a long time.
“This is become the wettest it’s been for a while, for this time of year,” he said.
“In the last three and a half weeks, I’ve had four inches.”
He said that any rain is welcome by farmers.
“The rain has been very good and filled up all the dams,” he said.
“It has given us plenty of soil profile that has built up, setting us up for an excellent Spring.”
Mr Parker warned however that large amounts of rainfall has the potential to cause damage.
“The only possible issue for farmers is that some country is waterlogged,” Mr Parker said.
“Low lying areas are more prone to being wet, they will take a little bit of time to dry out.
“But it also means growth on those areas will extend into the Spring and the early Summer time.”
He said some farmers in the region would be experiencing issues with weeds invading paddocks.
“Farmers with crops, the soil would be too wet for them to get on with carrying out weed control and fertilizer top dressing,” he said.
“Weeds that are there now, they are just bigger and more competitive with pastures in crops.
“They got to use higher rates of spray to get an effective of control.
“There are all costs that growers have to contend with.”
He said the cold conditions in the area would probably be stopping the growth of weeds.
“Mild conditions were pushing weeds to be more advance for this time of year,” Mr Parker said.
“The cold weather has slowed them down dramatically.”
Mr Parker also said there is a potential for disease due to the weather.
“Growers will also need to monitor crops for diseases that are caused under wet, humid conditions,” he said.
“Particularly once weather gets warmer, crops are more prone to diseases such as Stripe Rust in wheat.
“Most farmers are more vigilant then usual.”
He says the majority of farmers would be enjoying the wet and that it would pay dividends at the end of the year.
“At this stage there are a few issues farmers have to contend with but overall the season is looking good and Spring is holding a lot of promise,” he said.
“It would be nice if we could get some warmer, Summer weather for crops to grow.”
