Cropping hopes drenched after significant rainfall

TASMANIAN cropping farmers have been hit hard after torrential rain in some areas over the past week battered crops. 

After battling through very dry conditions during spring, parts of the state’s North copped significant rainfall over the past week with some areas recording 120mm to 200mm. 

The full impact on crops like poppies will not be known for days, but farmers say there are already worrying signs with yellowing in crops. 

While producers in the Midlands and southern regions have largely welcomed the rain, for others it has been a major setback. Cressy farmer Will Green described the rain event as heartbreaking after what had already been a tough season. 

He said farmers in his region had been keeping irrigation up and now, after falls of more than 120mm, there would be big losses. 

“Everyone was working really hard chasing irrigation and the crops were looking good, we needed a little bit of rain to help us and we got too much,” Mr Green said. 

He estimates about 25 per cent of poppy crops in the area have been hit by waterlogging. 

“It was just constant and didn’t stop, that’s the problem,” he said. 

“All my cropping ground is fairly free draining and on hills and slopes and there’s water everywhere.” 

Mr Green said the rain would also impact crops such as peas, some of which are almost ready for harvest. 

Sisters Creek farmer Michael Nichols said his region had escaped any major damage but he worries about other areas. 

“We actually fared pretty well because we’re in the high rainfall zone and we only got about 100 to 120mm,” he said. 

He said the Sassafras, Thirlstane and Moriarty area had been impacted and more rain was expected this weekend. 

Mr Nichols said the rain fell at a critical time for crops like poppies and potatoes. 

“The only ones that will really benefit from it are cereal crops, they’re the only ones that will be able to handle it. 

Mr Nichols said the warm weather before the rain led crops to mature quickly, then the rain had delayed harvesting for three days. 

He said the damage to poppy crops would soon be revealed. 

“A lot of them are sitting waterlogged and in a week or so we’ll see them doing funny things.” Mr Nichols is also concerned about the impact of the warm, humid conditions on disease and insect pressure in crops. 

“I think we’re going to have a massive army worm issue in two or three weeks’ time. 

Mr Nichols said he would like to see more monitoring of moth numbers to help growers. 

“With the dampness and the humidity there’s the potential for downy mildew and systemic mildew to really take off, especially if people can’t get on the paddocks to spray them.” 

David Whishaw in Carrick said his region had gone from one extreme to another with 145mm in five days. 

“It’s probably done more harm than good for us sadly,” he said.

Mr Whishaw said his operation been irrigating right up until the rain started, which had far exceeded forecast totals. 

Their investment in under ground drainage in the main cropping area is paying off, but he said some crops would still suffer after being waterlogged, including poppies, peas, beans and shallots. 

“The drainage is designed to move about 25mm a day, but when you’re getting three inch es in a day it takes three or four days for those paddocks to get back to fill capacity,” he said. 

“We’ve also had a flood over some cropping grounds with the Meander breaking its banks, which is very out of season for this time of the year.” 

Mr Whishaw said the rain had also come too late to boost pastures for hay production. 

“We’re lucky that most of our ground is drained so we’ll prob ably fare better than a lot,” he said. 

“Some areas near here like Selbourne got 200mm so that will do a lot of damage.”