Agricultural Victoria seasonal risk agronomist Dale Grey said Mallee was dry, but it was not unusual for March.
“March was quite dry. It’s all or nothing in autumn. The weather is beautiful and then it’s terrible, it’s hot and then cold, it’s wet and then it’s dry,” he said.
Soil moisture had improved in some areas following the rain, but in many areas it remains unchanged.
“Cropping paddocks in the north are at high levels, which augers well for the northwest, but increases the waterlogging risk in the medium to high rainfall areas,” he said.
Mr Grey said in areas of the Wimmera, Mallee and south-west region that have had about 15 millimetres, it was more of a hindrance than help in terms of being useful for germination.
He said it was difficult to predict more than seven days at the moment.
“In terms of the climate, nearly all the world’s models are sitting on a neutral pattern, which is code for plan for anything,” he told ACE Radio’s Country Today.
“It is interesting to note that half of the world’s models have a drier signal for south-western Victoria. I honestly don’t know whether to believe that or not, but it sort of shows that half those models are detecting something down in the southwest there that looks like maybe that frontal activity is going to play up a bit,” he said.
“I think all the world’s models have a warmer next three months, which is in keeping with the sort of warmer weather we’ve had over summer.
“And, of course, March was actually much warmer than normal, so we’ll see how we go with April and May, but it’s a case of hang on for the ride of autumn.
“It’s not often the whole state gets off to an amazing start at the same time, and it looks like that’s what we’re seeing at the moment.”
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The entire April, 24, 2024 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!
