After a dry start in WA’s southern grain belt Western Australia’s crop outlook has received a boost with late winter rains turning fortunes around for anxious growers. Latest research indicates grain producers could deliver a 17 million tonne harvest, up on early estimates. While some areas are still struggling with below average winter rain, farmers are hopeful the recent wave of cold fronts will continue into spring.
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00:00What a difference rain can make.
00:06Last month Simon Thomas was kicking up dust on his farm at Pingrub, four hours east of
00:12Perth.
00:13This is drier than average, but given that we've had a little bit of rain, it's better
00:18than it has been.
00:19During WA's wettest months, the winter rainfall has flipped the normal patterns, with the
00:25northern grain belt receiving record rains, while the southern regions have experienced
00:30falls well below average.
00:32Yeah, well winter's a good time to have your dams filling up or getting full, and we haven't
00:38had any run-offs of significance.
00:42Now after a series of late winter weather systems, optimism is gradually replacing concern.
00:49Things are starting to look, brighten up, the sheep feed, the crops, everything's responding
00:54well to the moisture.
00:56The crops definitely struggled during the dry June period.
01:01We're still going to need an extremely kind spring, but I guess we're back in the game
01:06I suppose.
01:07A sentiment backed by new data showing WA's harvest outlook has lifted.
01:13From a situation five or six weeks ago, it wasn't too good at all.
01:17In fact we were looking at total tonnage for the state to be well down.
01:21It's now up around somewhere between 17 and 18 million tonnes of grain, of all grain,
01:27West Australia.
01:28To reach the potential of a 17 to 18 million tonne crop by harvest, growers are hoping
01:35that rain events like this weekend will continue to arrive over the next two months.
01:42You can only hope.
01:44All eyes on the radar, and the crucial weeks to come.