SE Australia Harvest Progress Slowed By Rain
By Andrew Owen
Kansas City, November 23 (World Weather Inc.) – Winter wheat, barley, and canola maturation and harvest progress were slowed in southeastern Australia because of rain earlier this month, but the overall crop condition did not suffer much change. Some of the winter crop that was impacted by late season freezes in southwestern Australia earlier this spring has been slow in maturing, but weather conditions this month have been almost ideal in speeding crops toward full maturity without any weather-related quality change. In the meantime, the western summer crop production areas of Queensland and New South Wales have become too dry in unirrigated fields and widespread rain is needed. Areas that need rain most will stay dry or mostly dry for another couple of weeks.
The greatest weather-related delay to harvesting this month has been in Victoria and southern New South Wales where rain fell frequently early in the month and again as recent as the past two days. Most of the rain was not enough to harm the quality of unharvested wheat, barley or canola, but enough fell to maintain 
some concern. The biggest impact of rain was to slow fieldwork.
Rainfall since the beginning of November was near to above average in much of Victoria and southern New South Wales. Rain totals November 1 – 23 ranged from 1.50 to 3.00 inches with local amounts up to 5.50 inches. Pockets in southern New South Wales only received up to 0.75 inch of rain while northeastern New South Wales into southeastern Queensland reported 0.50 to 3.00 inches with local amounts approaching 5.00 inches. Production areas further west in Queensland and New South Wales only received up to 0.55 inch of rain which was not enough to counter evaporation. Central Queensland crop areas reported as much as 1.25 inches of rain. Very little rain fell in Western Australia except in the far south where up to 0.62 inch resulted.
Soil moisture is rated adequate or slightly short in Victoria and southern New South Wales due to the recent rain. The remaining winter crop production areas have experienced net drying conditions that favored crop maturation and harvest progress. Western New South 
Wales into southern and central Queensland are critically dry due to an extended period of drier than normal conditions, but winter crops in the region are mostly harvested and summer crops are largely irrigated minimizing the impact of dryness.
Winter wheat, barley, and canola harvesting was slowed by rain most significantly in the early part of November. The most recent delays were primarily confined to Monday and Tuesday when a rain event evolved briefly. The field working delays and wetter days were never so great as to cause a decline in grain or oilseed quality. Fieldwork has advanced relatively well around the precipitation.
Harvesting in southern Western Australia may also be a little behind the usual pace, but not because of rain. The region experienced frost and freezes earlier in the spring season and that set back crop development and delayed maturation. Harvesting of the more significantly freeze impacted crops will accelerate in the next few weeks as long as rainfall is kept to a minimum – which is expected.
Victoria and southern New South Wales will only see brief periods of light precipitation through the middle of next week. Rainfall will be too light in most locations to counter evaporation or impact long-term soil conditions. Maturation and harvesting will advance swiftly around the rain events. Other winter crop production areas will trend mostly dry and will have ample opportunities for fieldwork.
In the meantime, unirrigated summer grain, oilseed and cotton produced in western portions of Queensland and western portions of New South Wales’ production areas need rain. The lack of moisture and warm temperatures is stressing crops enough to threaten production. However, a fair amount of crops produced in the region are irrigated and will survive the drier bias without much impact.
This is a La Nina year and the abundant precipitation reported earlier this year was (in part) attributed to the abundant of rain that usually occurs in such an event. Typically, the wetter biased weather will return during the late spring and summer. If rain evolves as expected later this month and in January many summer crops will respond well and will experience a general improving trend in both condition and production potential.
Rain is most likely in the coming week in easternmost grain, oilseed and cotton areas of Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. Sufficient amounts of rain will occur to lift topsoil moisture for better cotton, sorghum, corn, sunseed and soybean development potential. Follow up rain will be very important to lock in the best yields. In the meantime, some of the unirrigated western crops may suffer a decline in yield if rain is missed much longer.
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