Wimmera crop farmers optimistic about spring rainfall as farmers prepare for bumper season

On Wednesday the BoM officially declared another climatic phenomenon would likely add to unrelenting rain on Australia's east coast in the months to follow.

The Indian Ocean Dipole has swung into a negative phase for a second year in a row, which typically means wetter-than-normal conditions for most of the country.

It comes as BoM models suggest La Nina, the weather pattern which lashed Australia with record rain, may return during spring for a third consecutive time.

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Catchment dams on Shane Bibby's Wimmera properties at Navarre, 40 kilometres north-east of Stawell, are brimming full, while moderate winter rainfall has the third-generation farmer optimistic about a better season ahead compared to 2021.

"I reckon it's better than last year because it hasn't been so wet in the winter," he said.

Mr Bibby runs a mixed-farming enterprise on 2800 hectares freehold and 240 hectares of leased country where the average rainfall is 500 millimetres.

"So far we've had about 358mm after receiving about 630mm last year," he said.

The Bibbys run about 2100 Merino ewes and a cropping operation which includes barley, oats for grain, canola and beans, along with vetch for hay and oaten hay too.

The waterway which runs through their property, Heifer Station Creek, is yet to run into the Wimmera River at Greens Creek, but Mr Bibby said it would not be long until it began flowing.

"We're as confident as we can be for August but if it stops raining in September and October it will change the ball game a bit," he said.

He is hopeful a decent season with good returns will help cover the cost of rising inputs, such as fertiliser and fuel, which has risen significantly in the last 12 months.

"Fuel has risen by $1 a litre, urea has gone from $600 a tonne to $1200/t but has since dropped," he said.

"However, the biggest concern facing farmers is not interest rates or input costs, it's about the threat of foot and mouth disease."

Birchip Cropping Group chief executive Fiona Best said ideal season conditions had allowed crops to establish across the Wimmera.

"Conditions are fantastic, however, there is localised variation in terms of how much rain has been received across the region," Ms Best said.

"For example, at the BCG's main research site, we've had 115mm for the growing season since the start of April, but in comparison to 20km south of Birchip, they're sitting on 170mm for the season."