EXTREME weather patterns have continued throughout January, with a record-breaking heatwave threatening the region’s spring crops.
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Raw Agriculture agronomist Rob Weinthal said last week’s heavy rain across the Gunnedah region was patchy – with some areas recording 30mm of rain and others 140mm for the week – and without some more soon, growers could struggle to reach high yields.
It comes as the mercury rises to set new records across New England and the North West.
Gunnedah’s average number of February days with temperatures above 40 degrees is just 0.9 of a day, but temperatures are forecast to reach 40 degrees or higher for the next seven consecutive days.
Moree is edging to 40 straight days of 35-degree plus temperatures – more than double the previous record set in the summer of 1981/82. Another record could well be broken over the next week, as Moree buckles down for seven straight days of 40-degree temperatures – equal that of the record set in November 2009.
It’s a forecast Mr Weinthal fears will threaten crops across the region.
“Dryland spring crops are really struggling – spring planted sorghum and mungbeans,” Mr Weinthal said.
But Mr Weinthal expected irrigation cotton to start to rebound after a record number of cold-shock events.
Boggabri bore the brunt of these events, with 25 below 11-degree events, compared to the previous record of 19 and the long-term average of 13.
“There’s plenty of people in the Downs, around Goondiwindi and Moree that have had a slow start to cold-shock events,” he said.
“We had cold-shock events up until December and normally the last one is around the second week of November.
“It’s been a year of real extremes. We had a cool start and now raging heat.”
Gunnedah stock and station agent Tim Walsh, of Fleming and Ross, said despite the soaring temperatures, cattle numbers at the local sales were not affected.
“It’s quite amazing that it hasn’t had much of an impact on numbers,” he said.
“Certainly there’s no difference to what’s normally expected around end of January, early February.”
But Mr Walsh predicted without any rain soon, the situation could turn dire.
“The cattle market itself is slowly getting better,” he said.
“But the long-term outlook is, if it doesn’t rain, it will have a big impact.”
