Stunning images: Farmers’ race against time to beat next deluge

The border town of Goondiwindi recently received up to three times its November average of rain in just three days, but Wilson Farming is one of those who have been harvesting their winter crops of wheat, barley and chickpeas for “at least the last five weeks”.The harvesting of winter crops usually depends on seasonal conditions, but Angus Wilson said they were “lucky enough to already be two-thirds through harvesting”. “Most farms on the Queensland side of the border are in a similar position, but some farms in New South Wales have only just started to harvest,” he said.“We have been taking off grain above moisture levels just to get it in the bin before any rain events.”Mr Wilson lives on his farm just outside Goondiwindi, but said he also had a number of grain farms in New South Wales, about 50km over the border towards Moree.He said before changes to the Covid-19 border bubble, the ability to operate farms on either side of the border was much simpler. “Recent changes to the border bubble, following the Moree outbreak, has made it difficult to service our farms, including tractors and tyres on equipment, but also sourcing electricians... the overall situation has given us a lot of headaches,” he said.“Goondiwindi is our closest town. Moree is still accessible but it’s nearly twice the distance.” Mr Wilson said the farm experienced some “fairly extreme weather” including lightning strikes which often started fires in paddocks. “One of our neighbours had a fire in their paddock the other day and lost some of their crop, so overall we have been lucky,” he said.

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November 17, 2021 at 05:30PM
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The border town of Goondiwindi recently received up to three times its November average of rain in just three days, but Wilson Farming is one of those who have been harvesting their winter crops of wheat, barley and chickpeas for “at least the last five weeks”.The harvesting of winter crops usually depends on seasonal conditions, but Angus Wilson said they were “lucky enough to already be two-thirds through harvesting”. “Most farms on the Queensland side of the border are in a similar position, but some farms in New South Wales have only just started to harvest,” he said.“We have been taking off grain above moisture levels just to get it in the bin before any rain events.”Mr Wilson lives on his farm just outside Goondiwindi, but said he also had a number of grain farms in New South Wales, about 50km over the border towards Moree.He said before changes to the Covid-19 border bubble, the ability to operate farms on either side of the border was much simpler. “Recent changes to the border bubble, following the Moree outbreak, has made it difficult to service our farms, including tractors and tyres on equipment, but also sourcing electricians... the overall situation has given us a lot of headaches,” he said.“Goondiwindi is our closest town. Moree is still accessible but it’s nearly twice the distance.” Mr Wilson said the farm experienced some “fairly extreme weather” including lightning strikes which often started fires in paddocks. “One of our neighbours had a fire in their paddock the other day and lost some of their crop, so overall we have been lucky,” he said.