"Brutally Dry Autumn" Threatens Promising Australian Wheat Crop - SMH

[hatrack]

A POTENTIALLY vast wheat crop that could help relieve the world's food crisis is in jeopardy due to a brutally dry autumn across the NSW grain belt. Record wheat prices have farmers primed to sow a crop that could help them bounce back financially after years of poor or failed harvests caused by drought, but rain is badly needed.

The latest drought figures released by the State Government show 48.4 per cent of the state is in drought, up from 42.9 per cent last month. Another 23.6 per cent is marginal and 28 per cent satisfactory.

Parts of the Bourke, Braidwood, Central Tablelands, Forbes, Goulburn, Molong and northern New England districts moved back into drought in the past month. All of the Coonamble, Coonabarabran, Tamworth and Narrabri districts went from satisfactory to marginal. Almost all the NSW grain belt is now either in drought or marginal, despite the fact many areas received good La Nina summer rain.

Burren Junction in the north usually gets 40 millimetres in April but only scored 5 millimetres this year, while in the south Corowa usually has 44 millimetres and received 10. The Bureau of Meteorology's latest rainfall outlooks says: "The La Nina event in the Pacific Basin is weakening: computer models indicate a return to neutral conditions over the outlook period of May-July."

EDIT

http://www.smh.com.au/news/water-issues/bumper-wheat-crop-under-threat/2008/05/12/1210444338921.html