Milking the Weather - September 2010 Edition
Dairy state roundup for winter (June-August) 2010
Cropping State Round Up (August) –from The Break Newsletter
Excellent rainfall has been recorded in most cropping regions in August to date. Soil moisture profiles are reportedly close to full and overflowing in quite a few places.
In the Mallee, crops are in excellent condition. Strategies for locust control are being discussed with timing of control, residue and withholding periods being considered.
Wimmera crops are also healthy and green but west Wimmera crops are a little behind. With recent rains in the north east and south west ,crop waterlogging has occurred in some areas.
At the end of August the growing season rainfall (GSR) deciles for the cropping regions in Victoria are:
- Mallee: GSR Decile (3-8)
- Wimmera: GSR Decile (2-6)
- North East: GSR Decile (4-6)
- South West: GSR Decile (2-8)
We have turned the corner into spring, with La Niña in full swing. Decent rains have been received over many dairy regions around the state, particularly the north and south west regions. Pugging and water logging may be an issue for some, where as other regions could probably use a little more rain. We can only wait and see what spring delivers.
Northern Irrigation Region (NIR): Conditions have been good in the NIR for the winter. Many areas have had above average rainfall particularly for the month of August. Numerous dairy farms have been having issues with some paddocks being too wet to graze, and also lame cows and damaged tracks. The catchments are wet and the storages are filling, with good allocations likely in all systems by the season’s end.
North East: A return to ‘a normal winter’ has occurred in many parts of the north east this year. June was cold and dry for some farms with some eating down pasture cover across the farm rather than feeding supplements. August has been a very wet month with minor flooding in most valleys. As many herds are close to maximum numbers, pugging has become an issue. With more heavy rain predicted, farmers are running out of ‘hard paddocks’ to feed cows on. Management decisions to allocate large areas to limit pugging have resulted in reduced pasture cover coming into spring. Those that chose to take cows off paddocks to a sacrifice area or feed pad have generally had lower production. These farms now have a large amount of pasture cover that will need to be mechanically harvested which may not be possible for several weeks.
Macalister Irrigation District: Lake Glenmaggie spilled in August, once the spill period has finished HRWS (High Reliability Water Share) will be 90% until December. In order for a bumper spring, soil temperature needs to increase and the grass will be away - moisture should not be a limiting factor. Dryland is doing well from recent showers, but needs follow up rains for decent harvests.
South West: Conditions in the south west are extremely wet. After good early winter growth the district received an extreme rainfall event in mid August, with many farms recording 50 to 110 mm in 48 hours. Flooding has been the worst in many years and has caused damage to farm infrastructure, restricted tanker access, caused power outages and problems with animal health and grazing management. The wet conditions continue to create challenges for farmers with managing waterlogged pastures, damaged tracks, lameness and mastitis issues.
South West Gippsland: Rainfall was below average for July. This is fortunate as August was wet with some experiencing pugging. Soil moisture is good, but the cooler weather has seen slowed pasture growth. Many farmers have been unable to get onto their paddocks to apply urea which has also slowed pasture growth.
Coastal East: Coastal east recent rains have been patchy - with some areas quite wet and others requiring more rains for good spring growth and harvests.
