Spring Haze, pig hunters & weather woes.

Well it’s been another busy week on-farm. Suddenly the weather conditions are looking ordinary again which goes to show how quickly things change out here. We did have good rain during July with a very welcome 50 mm falling however we’ve had a freezing winter. At one point we had seven consequtive frosts which is a bit of an abberration for us and with day-time temperatures frequently only nudging 16 degrees and quite a few days at 14, it has been cold. Add the dreaded wind chill factor – and we have had some sneaky southerly’s and the weather God’s final winter strike – a black frost a fortnight ago and well I’m sure our crops have retreated back into the ground.

Of course there was rain predicted, which amounted to a single cloud and a miserable attempt at a crack of thunder and then that was it. Yesterday it was 24 degrees today it’s predicted to be 29. So officially, it’s now Spring! Next week temperatures are pegged to be hovering at the 24 mark. Let’s see how long that lasts for. The gusty winds which welcome in Spring have arrived early and a haze has settled over the countryside. The country is definately looking for another drink.

What I won’t miss about winter are the numerous pig-hunters that seem to invade our part of the world. With total disregard to property many sneak onto private land uninvited to hunt. This year we have had five fences cut by hunters. I assume because they don’t know the large paddocks they are in and can’t find a gate-way or they are simply following a trail and take the fastest route. Either way cut fences lead to livestock getting onto crops which involves a mustering day to get them off. It also creates another problem. Once livestock have enjoyed a tasty nibble it takes a lot to keep them away. Which means there is a lot of time spent checking cultivations. Joy!

So here comes Spring! If it lasts two weeks I’ll be happy and then summer will set in.

Next week I’ll be blogging about David’s dilemma (apart from a brand new John Deere tractor with only 1000 hours on it which blew its transmission yesterday-not a good day in our house) With the fall in the cotton price – the Chinese who mill the majority of what we produce in Australia have a massive stock pile and have decided that they won’t be paying more than $400.00 bale – David is talking about planting irrigated sorghum, soybeans and only a small amount of cotton ! Had to happen every commodity has it’s day …. but that’s a whole new blog.