Record spring temperatures seals terrible cropping year

After a terribly dry winter, farmers now face record high temperatures over the next few days with the mercury set to top 40 degrees in some north-west towns.

The huge hay crop from last year rises from the paddock of “Nullawarra” like pyramids at his property, 30km south of Cobar, where Mr Harrison farms.

Now his hope for another big crop is all gone, all 1400ha of oats and vetch, sown in May with stock run on the lot. He’s had one lot of rain all year 57mm in March, and that was it. Not a drop since.

Now with record spring temps forecasted for the weekend, it’s all over for any crops slightly  on the marginal side.

“Any crop around here that is still alive will be dead in the next few days,” Mr Harrison sadly predicted. He said he was okay for water but many in the district weren’t.

Bourke, Thargomindah and Tibooburra are all expected to record temperatures above 40 degrees on Saturday, smashing the previous September NSW record of 39.6 recorded at Wanaaring Post Office in 2004. Thargomindah may even go 41 degrees, according to Weatherzone forecaster Tom Hough. Dubbo is expected to hit 36 degrees on Saturday, breaking the previous 33.7 degree record for September for weather statistics kept since 1993.

Not only will heat drive crops to the brink, but hot winds of up to 40km/h are predicted across much of the western districts, putting fire risk at severe levels.

Local Land Services central-west manager of biosecurity and emergency services David Creeper said such a shock to crops in early spring would only be damaging to yield and quality.

Mr Creeper said it was possible some crops would hold on because they had set their roots deeply due to the strange season which saw some rain at the start.

But he said crops would find it hard to tolerate such a heat shock so early in spring. Many crops would be curing early because of the high temperatures. Also farmers faced the difficulty of back to back extraordinary years, moving from flooding in some areas to no winter rain in just a year.

Storms last November had wrecked some crops and put a lot of grain on the ground exacerbating the mice problem. The GRDC said the mice plague was the worst it had been for five years. Severe frosts had also hurt many crops throughout the central-west with some losses put at between 80-100 per cent in the Tottenham-Trundle area. The state’s grain harvest is expected to fall by 30 per cent, but this is expected to be revised upwards given the extreme conditions.