Weeks of temperatures in the mid 30’s, combined with winds hovering around 20km/hr, have caused the region’s crops to mature quickly. 

The sustained dry weather is also starting to have serious implications further west of Gunnedah, with farmers around Bourke, Brewarrina and Walgett at a critical point.

District agronomist Bill Manning said local crops are “rushing to a conclusion” due to the weather.

“There is a bit of barley which is ready to go and the hot, dry weather will see everything else come in pretty quickly,” Mr Manning said.

He said the dry spring has affected most crops, with expectations wheat and barley yields will be “average” at best.

The region’s canola crops however, which are in the process of being harvested, looked to have survived better.

Emerald Hill farmer Pete Loveridge, who farms with sister Lucy, and parents Trevor and Colleen, has just windrowed 165 hectares of canola on their family farm, “Yamba”.

He said the crop, which includes 110 hectares of dryland and 55 hectares of irrigated canola, has held on well despite the dry weather.

“We are fairly happy with the canola considering the season. It had a solid start with a good strike but then had a tough spring,” Mr Loveridge said.

The canola crop was windrowed a few weeks earlier than in previous years, which may have an impact on quality.

“The yield might be back a bit, and the oil content is always a gamble, but we’ll know more when we harvest it next week.”

He hopes the recent windy weather won’t pose any problems for the canola.

“Now that it’s on the ground it could be blown round a bit so hopefully we won’t get too much wind during the next few days.”

He said canola prices remain steady, sitting at about $100/tonne off all time highs.

The Loveridges also have 200 hectares of barley and 350 hectares of wheat in the ground, which “aren’t far off harvest”.

Mr Loveridge expects the barley to be ready for harvest within the next fortnight, with the wheat not too far behind.

He said the barley has coped relatively well with the dry spring but the wheat, which was planted later, 

failed to establish as well as he had hoped.

 “The lack of in crop moisture has been a problem for the wheat and barley, and a month or two of heat and wind probably hasn’t helped either.”

The family will look to plant sorghum in the next few months, but “only if the season turns around”.

Farmers living in western NSW around Bourke, Brewarrina and Walgett, who have also been hit hard by the dry, are now at a critical point.

During this week members of the Regional Assistance Advisory Committee (RAAC)have been visiting western NSW to access the region first hand.

“I am acutely aware of the precarious situation facing North West primary producers as a result of the deteriorating seasonal conditions,” NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, said.

“This is clearly a tough situation for producers and getting worse each day without rain.”

Member for Barwon, Kevin Humphries, has welcomed the visit.

Mr Humphries said the conditions in the west of his electorate had been deteriorating throughout 2013, with one local landholder’s on-farm data suggesting this had been the 

longest dry spell in 80 years of record keeping.

“You don’t need to go far west from Narrabri and Moree and the change in landscape is obvious.

“Crops have failed and feed is non-existent, in fact some farmers have been feeding stock since February, it’s just devastating.”

RAAC Chair David Palmer said the organisation has been overseeing the preparation of monthly Regional Seasonal Conditions Reports, which focus on farm management preparedness and resilience.

“The Department of Primary Industries seasonal conditions report for September highlighted the dry and deteriorating situation in the North West – following on from the tenth-driest August on record and the eighth-warmest.

“During September, NSW received about 80 per cent of average rainfall, however, the Far West, North West and Mid North Coast received less than 25mm rainfall.

“Crop yields have been affected by poor rainfall in the North West, pasture growth has declined and in some cases stock water supplies are very low.”