The Moree community tasted its first sprinkling of rain in more than two months on Wednesday, and while it may have been enough to lift spirits, much more is needed for it to make any difference in breaking the crippling drought.
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The last time Moree experienced a decent rainfall was back on April 21, when 12.8 millimetres was recorded at Moree Airport, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
No rainfall was recorded throughout the whole month of May, and so far this month only 0.2mm fell on June 9 – barely enough to wet the surface.
This is well below the monthly rainfall averages, with May averaging 27.9mm of rain, while June’s mean is 41.3mm.
On Wednesday, June 27, the skies finally opened up, with light showers on and off throughout the day, however Landmark Moree agronomist Garry Onus believes it won’t be enough to germinate dry-planted seeds.
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“We’ll probably get a bit of a scatter of some description but it won’t be drought-breaking or enough to make people go plant,” he said.
“We really want 30 to 50 mils to make a difference. I think the weather sites are forecasting 2mm, that’s really not going to cut it. I hope the Bureau [of Meteorology] made a typing error and left a zero off.”
With weather sites predicting significant rainfall for this week and into next week, many growers began dry-sowing in the hopes of getting a crop.
However, now, the predicted rain has been significantly scaled back.
“A few tractors fired up in the last few days on the back of the forecast, dry-sowing but it’s probably going to stay that way now,” Mr Onus said.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, there’s a 60 per cent chance of rain for Thursday with between 1 to 6mm predicted. On Saturday, there’s a 40 per cent chance of rain with only 0 to 2mm expected.
Sunday could see up to 15mm fall, while Monday is looking most positive with between 6 to 20mm forecast.
Mr Onus said there is still a chance of a decent season if we receive a good fall sometime in July, however after that it will be difficult.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s a better option than turning it into a winter crop 2019,” he said.
Mr Onus believes this is one of the quietest winters he’s ever experienced in his 30-odd years as an agronomist.
“It’s very tough,” he said.
“The other day I was talking to an old grazier out towards Collie. He asked if I’ve ever seen it this bare. I said I’ve probably come across paddocks here and there, but not across the whole area.
“He’s about 76/77 and he said he’s never seen it as bad as it is now. He’s been a grazier all his life. He lives 80 to 90km west of Moree.
“That bloke has had 4 mils since January or early February. Four mils is nothing.”
