IF THIS latest weather front produces good rain it will be perfectly timed to germinate the oats and brassica Mark and Richard Walters have sown so far this season.
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With little summer rain combined with extreme temperatures the brothers experienced one of their "poorest" grain sorghum crops they have ever grown.
However, they are hoping their season is changing.
Following two falls of 12 millimetres and 14mm mid month, the brothers started their winter cropping program sowing 44 hectares of grazing oats and 28ha of Winifred forage brassica on March 17.
The light falls were followed by a further 22mm of rain earlier this week with the promise of more to follow by the end of the week.
The Walters brothers run a mixed farming enterprise on the 1923ha "Glenallen", which includes both summer and winter cropping, sheep and cattle.
By the end of April Mark Walters said they hoped to have 80ha of canola - either sown into moisture or dry sown - followed by 283ha in total of wheat and barley started by mid May.
The last decent rain on "Glenallen" was 100mm in seven falls between November 11 to 22.
"Of the 45 dams we have across the property only two still have water and we've had to rely on windmills and pumping to provide stock water for the past couple of months," said Mark Walters (pictured and on our cover).
In a perfect world, Mr Walters would like to see another 100mm of gentle, soaking rain across the next 10 days to fill the soil moisture profile and followed by more of the same soon after to help fill the dams.
