Hopes high for rain crops boost
Posted
Anxious producers are hoping forecast weekend rain will secure crops and boost yield potential.
Between 10 and 20 millimetres of rain is predicted for most of southern and central New South Wales on Saturday night and Sunday.
The Department of Primary Industries' program leader for cereals, Frank McRae, says crops sown in June and July are struggling and desperately need rain.
He says while a lot of areas have good sub-soil moisture, there has not been enough rain to allow crop roots to access it.
"Our big worry is that as soon as we get warm weather, crops that are under moisture stress and starting to wilt through the day, which indicates they haven't accessed that moisture, and even our irrigation crops are struggling at the moment, so we are making decisions whether we continue to put inputs into those or whether they sell water on the temporary market," he said.
