‘RAIN, rain go away’ may have been the cries from the local primary schools, but the recent downpour has been a welcome relief for farmers who have suffered drought conditions for most of the year.
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Pursehouse agronomist Adam Altmann said the rains have brought renewed optimism in the region’s farming sector.
But the Mullaley based agronomist said it was important for local farmers to stay proactive with crop protection, if the rains hang around when the weather warms up.
“There’s diseases such as ascochyta in chickpeas, which is spread by rain,” Mr Altmann said.
“There’s a risk of some diseases with cereal crops, if the rain does hang around, including net blotch in barley and leaf spots and rust in wheat.”
Mr Altmann said it was a long way off before it got to that point and emphasised the positive attitude in the area.
“We can see some light and there’s a chance of growing a decent crop,” he said.
Over the past week, the district has received good falls, with Blackville recording 21mm, Mullaley 25mm and Tamworth 26mm until 9am Wednesday morning.
The weather played havoc to the north, as Glen Innes Severn Council scrambled to fill a minor sinkhole on Bourke St on Wednesday morning which caused minor delays.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology rainfall data,Tamworth airport has recorded 452mm of rain for this year.
At the same point in 2015 the same location had recorded just 431.6mm.
And Tamworth could double it’s long-term August rainfall average, according to Elders Weather, with the average at 39.6mm across 6.3 rainy days.
This is almost half the figure recorded for August this year with 66.4mm in the gauges already.
Dams around the region continue fill, with Chaffey hitting 51.6 per cent on Tuesday. Keepit climbed to 36.3 per cent.
Copeton hit 22.4 per cent on Tuesday, while Dungowan rose to 99.95 per cent.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
