Big wash up from summer soaking
IT is one of the state’s driest farming areas, but Bothwell copped up to 110mm of rain over the weekend, waterlogging paddocks of poppies and stock feed.
Seventh-generation sheep and poppy farmer Will Bignell, of Thorpe Farm, said where he would lose in the cropping operation, the livestock would benefit. He grows poppies, livestock feed, crop rape and runs about 8000 sheep.
“It’s a very challenging weather system, but this is the nature of the game,” Mr Bignell said.
“We will lose a percentage of the poppies.”
About 10km from Thorpe farm is his irrigated 160ha “The Square”, which copped 110mm, with the 2400ha Thorpe farm receiving 80mm.
“Things are wet and wild. It’s an incredible volume of water, unprecedented. You can’t plan for 110mm in December,’’ he said.
“The Square is a big, flat, old marshland and I’ve spent a lot of money and effort designing and implementing a drainage plan. Some ideas I didn’t get time to implement before sowing and I made a back-up drainage plan of extra surface drains for this sort of event.”
Mr Bignell, who has PhD in agricultural science and also operates Drone Ag, used drones to create a 3-D module of the site and modelling predicted storm events on The Square.
“We dug 8km of drains midwinter when it was really dry and I am happy how they went. If I didn’t have the drains, I would have been devastated.
“Every spot we thought would have issues did and I’m so happy there were no major surprises. Our plan worked and the volume of water in the drains is testament to what we were trying to do. It’s a surreal feeling to watch all the hard work cop this sort of a flogging.
“I always knew I was pushing to the edge with this site but the opportunities it opens up far outweigh unprecedented events like this.”
About 90mm fell on cherry grower Mick Dudgeon’s 7ha orchard Stonecrest Cherries at Sorell.
“It was a bloody lot of rain, but I am feeling fortunate with little damage but, if it happened in couple of weeks time, it may have caused more damage,” Mr Dudgeon said.
“More rain this week is not welcome.”
The orchard aims to harvest about 70 tonnes from 10 varieties of cherries. Picking starts in January.
Fruit Growers Tasmania business development manager Phil Pyke said except for a few growers, everything was positive.
“Maturity index of the fruit means it is not in the risk period at this stage,” he said.
“Yield is still expected to be good. Good orchard practice will mitigate risk of rot events.”
But areas of Cygnet last week suffered hail damage to unprotected trees.