Strong winter rainfall has farmers looking to the spring full of optimism around the Hilltops region. According to Elders Weather 88mm of rain fell in Young during August, over an inch and a half more than the historical average. This late top up to an already wet winter has local livestock growers in good stead according to local experts. Luke Corcoran is a stock and station agent with Kevin Miller Whitty Lennon & Co (KMWL) based in Young. “The season has just been fantastic pretty much all the way through,” Luke said. “Some parts got a little bit dry around April and made everyone nervous but other than that we’ve had fantastic rain and a nice mild winter. For beef producers the outlook is strong as well, but not without areas to keep an eye on health wise. “Cattle are looking tremendous, sometimes too good with feed becoming a bit of a bloat issue with high legume content in pastures at the moment,” Luke said. “But that’s probably a good problem to have. In terms of sheep, there are high hopes for producers who have stuck with them, as numbers have decreased across traditional growing areas in the Riverina over time. “I’ve spoken to a lot of people who say the lambs they’ve got coming off are the best they’ve ever had, having beautiful feed in front of them and the ewes in good order," Luke said. “The markets are holding up, and there’s a lack of livestock out there, especially on the sheep front. “Around here locally there’s a fair few lambs still, and people are going to reap the rewards from a lack of supply.” There is little rainfall projected in the coming month but won’t worry producers too much with feed in strong supply for the upcoming warmer months.
