Hail in the South West, rain in the Pilbara and high spirits in the Wheatbelt

Rare rainfall in northern and central WA last week saw several locations in the Pilbara record more than their average August totals in less than 24 hours. Port Hedland recorded 28mm on Friday, August 2, while Karratha received 17mm, Roebourne 16mm, Marble Bar 14mm and Paraburdoo 12mm. The cloud band travelled in a south-easterly direction over the weekend with parts of the Gascoyne and Goldfields also receiving some falls. Eastern parts of WA saw temperatures plumet mid-week, with some areas recording 4-10C below average. The South West agricultural region was hit by a wet and windy cold front last Wednesday, with a severe weather warning issued for parts of the coast. Patchy showers and thunderstorms then travelled east, resulting in small hail and cold south-westerly winds in parts of the south-western Wheatbelt. Cuballing grain grower Nelson Young captured a large hailstorm on camera, saying he received 6mm in just six minutes. Mr Young said they had received 100mm in July, with the rain well-timed despite a dryer than average start to the season. “We still need good spring rainfall to get us through, but we are looking good at the moment,” he told Countryman. “The hail damage to the canola was minimal but it did travel through to Narrogin. “It had the potential to strip the crop.” Esperance grower Mic Fels received 15mm in the week to August 5 and 160mm in total this year, with crops germinating late in June. “They don’t look too bad considering. The canola is a bit ‘how’s it going’,” Mr Fels said. With July rainfall nearly on average, Mr Fels said a good finishing rain during spring was needed to ensure an average harvest. “We have had small rainfall events with no runoff this year; we need a good one or two inches of rain,” he said. While the Fels do not run livestock, he said they needed water runoff for their dams and tanks for their spraying program and garden. “We have a long way to go to get us through next summer,” Mr Fels said. PASTURES ‘REMARKABLY GOOD’ Karridale cattle producer Gary Buller said on Monday they recorded 62mm, with the rain starting off lightly in the morning but hammering down in the afternoon. “It was a surprise with the forecast only for a chance of isolated showers,” Mr Buller said. “We have had a late start to the season, but the pasture is looking remarkably good considering.” He said until two weeks ago their highest daily rainfall had not been above 21mm, but 10 days ago they received 30mm followed by a further 60mm and 62mm on Monday. “It is as wet as needed now,” Mr Buller said. Traditionally the farm at Karridale has its heaviest rain during July and August, so it was not unexpected. But it was certainly dryer than average in the lead up to late July. “The rain we have had has been small but often enough for pasture root systems to follow the moisture down,” Mr Buller said. “The colour of the country looks remarkable; it is a nice dark green.” Mr Buller said he was “pretty happy” with the state of the season currently, adding that the country now had reasonable moisture levels running into spring. Other recordings in the South West between July 30 and August 5 included 56.7mm at Northcliffe, 56.2mm at Vasse and 55.6mm at Margaret River. In the Mid West, Mingenew recorded the highest total in the same period with 58mm. New Norcia recorded 43mm with other parts of the Wheatbelt receiving falls in the mid to high teens. Winter crop production in WA is forecast to rise 7 per cent in 2024-25 to 15.9 million tonnes, from a smaller planted area of 8.5 million hectares, according to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s latest crop report, released early June. “Following drier and hotter than average conditions during autumn, soil moisture levels across most cropping regions in WA have been below to very much below average during the winter crop planting window,” the report said. The report forecast the NSW winter crop at 15 million tonnes, ahead of Victoria (9.2 million tonnes), South Australia (8.3 million tonnes), Queensland (2.9 million tonnes) and Tasmania (100,000 tonnes). Total Australian crop production was forecast to increase by 9 per cent to 51.3Mt in 2024–25. This is 9 per cent above the 10-year average to 2023–24 of 47 million tonnes and, if realised, would be the fifth highest on record. This forecast increase reflects expected improvements in production in Queensland, New South Wales and WA. SPIRITS HIGH IN WHEATBELT With the sharp turnaround in WA seasonal conditions ahead of the crucial spring finish, spirits are high across grain growing regions. Geraldton and Morowa have both recorded strong rainfall figures during June and July with 305mm and 234mm recorded respectively. Wongan Hills has recorded a total of 136mm for the two months with Merredin not far behind on 128mm and Cunderdin recording 117mm. In the South West, winter rainfall is boosting pasture production with Busselton recording 221mm for the two winter months so far. Albany has recorded 202mm and Esperance 129mm. Rainfall Totals 30/7 to 5/8: MID WEST Binnu – 27.6mm Canna East – 14.6mm Latham – 28.2mm Mingenew – 58 mm Morawa – 16.2mm Yuna – 13mm WHEATBELT Corrigin – 16.6mm Hyden – 16.5mm Kalannie – 10.5mm Meckering – 13.3mm Moorine Rock – 19.4mm Mt Walker – 18.8mm New Norcia – 43mm Pingelly – 17.6mm Quairading – 11.6mm Wongan Hills – 36.4mm GREAT SOUTHERN Denmark – 30.4mm Marradong – 30.1mm Lake King – 10mm Newdegate – 20.4mm Nyabing – 19.6mm Pingrup – 16.8mm Wellstead – 4.6mm Williams – 14.6mm SOUTH WEST Cordering – 27mm Dardanup – 51.6mm Dinninup – 19.4mm Harvey – 34.8mm Margaret River – 55.6mm Karridale – 42.6mm Nannup – 56.2mm Northcliffe – 56.7mm Scott River – 43.2mm Vasse – 56.2mm Yanmah – 42.4mm ESPERANCE Esperance – 16mm Mt Howick – 13.6mm Munglinup – 11.4mm Salmon Gums – 14.6mm