IT IS difficult to believe, but some NSW farmers are also anxious for rain.
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Despite the widespread soaking rains in March which resulted in flooding in the north west, farmers in the central west and Riverina are now looking for a top-up rain.
Although most of the NSW cropping areas received torrential rains across all regions in March, most areas have seen nothing since the start of the April.
And with the absence of even light showers during April, topsoil moisture has dried out more quickly than most anticipated.
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Northern NSW received beneficial 10mm to 25mm on the weekend but the central west and Riverina missed out.
Farmers have been planting canola in central and southern NSW for the past 10 days and will kick off with wheat later this week.
Some farmers are saying they will stop planting canola later this week and wait for more rain rather than risk a patchy germination.
A scarcity of canola seed supplies has made growers even more conscious of getting a good strike.
The rapidly drying topsoil has farmers having second thoughts about how much canola they plant.
High mice populations, particularly in the western regions, has left farmers reluctant to dry plant canola.
Old crop markets on the east coast remain quiet but continue to creep higher in a mix of dry weather concerns and the firmer tonne in global markets.
Domestic markets are liquid, and sellers are becoming scarce with buyers having to pay premiums to draw on nearby supplies.
Many feed grain buyers have employed the strategy of limiting forward coverage to four to eight weeks, happy to allow farmers and traders carry the grain for them.
It has proved a successful strategy after last year's massive harvest, but another two months of dry weather may alter this.
A further strengthening in global grain markets also offered support for domestic wheat prices last week.
Weather also remains a concern in the United States where wheat futures rallied for a second consecutive week.
Drought weather in the Northern Plains is restricting spring wheat plantings in the Dakotas and extending into the Canadian Prairies.
Upside to global wheat prices may be capped as export competition from the Black Sea re-emerges.
After an absence of several months, traders reported that Indonesia bought two cargoes of Russian wheat for shipment in June.
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