Successful spring harvest shines hope for NSW grain farmers

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Small towns in northwest New South Wales are booming thanks to a successful harvest this spring. Towns like Walgett are celebrating the good times while they can with the weather still causing issues for some parts of the state.

Transcript

00:00It's daybreak in the heart of cropping country and the headers are already rolling.

00:09They're working around the clock to harvest crops planted in the winter.

00:14Well-timed rain has growers looking at a standout season.

00:18Peas are averaging 3 ton of hectare and wheat was going about 5 tonnes so no complaints there.

00:25They've been fortunate enough to see back-to-back good years.

00:29Especially west of Walgett, we haven't really seen anything like the past 6-7 years.

00:34Even so, it's a race to move grain to the silos.

00:38It's still clear skies here, but some parts of the north-west have suffered crop damage from hailstorms this harvest.

00:45You're just stressed that the next rain event is going to come and put it all under water and you're going to lose it all.

00:51The success of the harvest is also being felt in town.

00:55The most recent census puts Walgett's population at just over 5,000 residents.

01:01But that number doubles when adding labour from out of town.

01:04New South Wales is tipped to produce almost 18 million tonnes of grain this year.

01:10And most of that will come from the north of the state, like here in Walgett.

01:15But as drought continues to plague southern New South Wales, not all growers are celebrating.

01:20Most people down this way are going to struggle to get anywhere near average crops.

01:25When you throw in wheat prices, barley prices not being that magnificent.

01:30With summer almost here, southern growers are hoping the next season will be the one that turns things around.

01:38When you're on the edge, it doesn't take a lot to make a difference.

01:42Hoping Mother Nature shares her good fortune across the state.

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