Victorian grain farmers have endured a bitterly cold finish to winter, with overnight temperatures plummeting into the negatives on the weekend.
The cold snap blanketed areas like Trentham and Daylesford in snow and delivered frosts across the Wimmera, Mallee and central Victoria. Widespread frosts were recorded, with Horsham recording -4C on Sunday night. Farmers said it was some of the coldest weather this winter, but the timing is unlikely to cause any crop damage.
Above-average August rainfall has provided ideal growing for cereal, canola and pulse crops, boosting soil moisture levels ahead of spring. The wetter than normal August has gone a long way towards assuring Victorian farmers of another good harvest after last season’s bin-busting crop.
