Crops on a 'knife edge' in Victoria as rain still scarce in drought-hit state

Australia Broadcast Center

19-07-2025

In the depths of winter, Victorian farmers are nervously waiting to see what the season brings, as recent rain has not been enough to relieve the pressures of drought.
For cropping farmers across the north and north-west, conditions are challenging.
"We will need a lot of rain in spring to finish the crops," Kaarimba farmer John Varvaressos said.
The plants are out of the ground in his district around Nathalia, north of Shepparton, but only just.
"According to my records, we've had only a quarter of our average annual rainfall so far this year," Mr Varvaressos said.
"I'm still feeding sheep because not a lot of grass is growing."
Adrian Coatsworth, who farms in tough country at Wycheproof South in north-west Victoria, also has not had much rain.
"We will need a very kind spring for this year's [crops] to work out," she said.
"It's knife-edge stuff and there are some very nervous people out there.
"What we have sown, things are out of the ground, but there's no growth."
Further north at Manangatang, crops are looking "rather patchy", according to local farmer Christine Plant.
"Early crops are looking good … the heavy ground is struggling and anything sown late is only just popping up out of the ground," he said.
Ms Plant said the area had some subsoil moisture from summer rains, but had not received decent rain over 25 millimetres since November.
"We will need a lot more rain to try to get an average or above-average crop," she said.
The Bureau of Meteorology's latest drought statement shows a majority of Victoria experienced serious, severe or record low rainfall deficiencies in the 17 months to the end of June.
In the past six months alone, north-west Victoria, south-west Gippsland and north-central Victoria have had record low falls.
Average to above-average rainfall in south-west Victoria in June brought some relief to the parched region.
Agriculture Victoria's seasonal risk agronomist, Dale Grey, monitors soil moisture levels across the state.
He said the ground was saturated in east Gippsland, but the rest of Victoria had a long way to go.
"Unless we get really high-intensity rainfalls, which we haven't been seeing, you won't get any water running off into creeks and dams," he said.
Mr Grey advised farmers to plan for all weather possibilities this spring, saying climate models predicting an increase in rain were not overly reliable.
"We got this dangled carrot … particularly spring, which is what everyone wants to hear, but we heard this last year and it never came about," he said.
"We all want it to rain and we all want a wetter spring, but we need to be planning for any outcome.
"If we do have a dry spring, hard decisions will have to be made."
South Gippsland is known for its high rainfall, but it is one of the driest areas in the state right now.
Leongatha South dairy farmer Callum Moscript said the extended dry was a new experience for him and many others in South Gippsland.
"We're nervous that we will have to start feeding in December, which means you've got to have a lot of feed and we don't have any stockpile," he said.
Mr Moscript usually gets up to 70mm of rain during autumn, but this year he got only 5mm.
"There's a lot of farms, us included, who have purchased land and paid a lot of money for it, and it's not producing any feed to make any return on investment," he said.
"There's so many pressures on farmers right now."
The Victorian government has announced a total of $144 million for farmers during the extended dry conditions.
A majority of the drought relief is directed to the west of the state.
Mr Moscript said it was not enough.
"I don't think anyone in Victoria is getting enough support," he said.
"There's only so much the government can do, but we're in a situation which is unprecedented now.
"There's a lot of upside to farming but times like this are very challenging and put lots of stress on communities."