AUGUST is forecast to get off to a wet start, but it may not be enough to reverse the damage of a dry July for the region’s farmers.
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As of Friday, just over eight millimetres of rain had been recorded in Bathurst during July, well below the long-term average of 48.9mm.
According to Weatherzone, around 1mm of rain should fall on Tuesday and Wednesday, before Bathurst receives anything between 10mm and 20mm of rain on Thursday.
Western Advocate rural columnist John Seaman said the situation for farmers was reaching the boiling point and rain was urgently needed to turn things around for them.
“The way we see it, the first couple of weeks of August is the turn of the season and right at the turn of the season is when we hope for rain,” he said.
Mr Seaman said the lack of rain during July has meant many farmers have started to grain feed their animals and hay feed their cattle.
Ground cover has been increasingly poor and even a few oat crops, which rarely die off, haven’t survived.
“It has been a disappointing winter, because in May it was looking very good, the market was good,” Mr Seaman said.
While there is some rain forecast, and the farmers are thankful for it, Mr Seaman said there really needed to be several doses of 25mm or more throughout August to ease the pressure.
“Right at the turn for winter to spring, things can turn around quite quickly and that is what we are hoping for,” he said.
Perthville Feed and Rural owner Christian Ilieff agreed that it had been a tough season for farmers.
For the last month, farmers have been purchasing more hay than usual from his store so they can feed their animals.
“It is pretty desperate for people out there at the moment,” he said.
Although a need for hay is good for his business, Mr Ilieff said he would not wish the dry conditions on any farmer.
His hope for August is continual rain heading into spring to improve the situation for Bathurst’s struggling farmers.
“If they can have a really good hay season, then if things turn bad next year we should still be okay,” he said.