Witchcliffe West received a deluge of 277.8mm of rain with neighbouring Jarrahwood exceeding 200mm. Bunbury picked up 190mm, unusual in an often-dry streak of weather across Western Australia’s South West. This unexpected deluge is jarring, not only for its atypical timing, but because of how dry most farmers have been in recent years. An unusual double fisted shot of a cold front moved through overnight, and another one Sunday. As welcome as these light falls are to vast agricultural regions, the Bureau of Meteorology has cautioned that these totals will not be sufficient to ensure a good crop season.
In agricultural areas, especially in west-central York, recent months have been marked by below-average precipitation — an alarming trend for the farmers who call the area home. Michael Lamond, a local farmer, said he’s never seen it this dry. He said most farmers are at this point in “dire straits” and “desperate need” of rain to salvage their crops.
Impact of Recent Rainfall
Due to the effects of this year’s extremely heavy rains, accumulations have been considerable across affected points. Along with Witchcliffe West and Bunbury, Cunderdin Airport was the other top rainfall site with an impressive 26.8mm, closely followed by York with a little over 21mm in total. Geraldton Airport reported a respectable 135mm.
Even with these huge totals, the trend of the moment is still not good news for most farmers. Washington farmer Holly Godfrey has been keeping a close eye on her canola crop. She reported widespread patchy germination and was disappointed by how far it’s fallen behind last year at this time.
“I just looked at some photos of canola this time last year and it was far more advanced than it is this year.” – Holly Godfrey
The rainfall has not been uniformly beneficial. Rhys Johnson, who has been working on local roads, described the aftermath:
“Our team is working out on the roads, cleaning gutters, cutting back trees.” – Rhys Johnson
Some areas even appeared flooded. Johnson commented on the unusual conditions surrounding the oval in his community:
“A few of the sites along the edge of the oval have got lake front views at the moment.” – Rhys Johnson
Farmers’ Concerns and Optimism
For most farmers such as Holly Godfrey, that irregular rain can leave one feeling hopeful and helpless at the same time. She mentioned:
“I think for the year to date, we’ve had around 50 millimetres, so we’re really, really needing a bit of rain.” – Holly Godfrey
You could feel the concern over unpredictable yields in the voice of every farmer in attendance. Michael Lamond noted the shift from early optimism to concern as the season progresses:
“There was that optimism at the start, and now everyone’s wondering how things are going to go from now on.” – Michael Lamond
Even in the face of these adverse conditions, many other farmers are experiencing relatively better fortunes. Michael Webster reported successful progression in his seeding program in Tenterden due to early rains and good soil moisture:
“We’ve had a great start to our season so far.” – Michael Webster
Forecasts indicate light rain again, as more cold fronts barreling down from the north bring in moisture. While brace farmers for the worst, many remain cautiously optimistic. Joey Rawson from the Bureau of Meteorology cautioned against expecting significant rainfall amounts from the forthcoming weather systems:
The Outlook Ahead
This projection has many farmers worried as many of them deeply depend on sufficient amounts of rainfall for the prosperity of their crops. With the South West district receiving a considerable portion of June’s total rainfall—153.8mm at Perth Airport—there is a glimmer of hope that conditions may stabilize.
“The fronts are more likely to bring around 10-20mm instead of those upper end type rainfall figures.” – Joey Rawson
With many regions still grappling with drought-like conditions and below-average rainfall over recent months, farmers are left with uncertainty about their harvests this season.
However, with many regions still grappling with drought-like conditions and below-average rainfall over recent months, farmers are left with uncertainty about their harvests this season.
