The ground underneath crops tells a different story with a wetter than average winter taking a toll. 

Stockinbingal district farmer Ralph Donaldson estimates about 30 to 40 percent of yield will be lost as a result of this season’s wet weather. 

As expected, he said it is crops planted in low-lying, flat areas that are faring the worst while those on rising, sandier country are holding up better. 

“Things get worse as you get closer to the Bland Creek,” Mr Donaldson said. 

He has cereals and lupins in this season and said the big unknown is how disease will play a part if rain continues. 

Also of concern will be getting machinery onto sodden paddocks if the rain does not let up. 

Mr Donaldson reported that in some areas near Stockinbingal, up to a foot of water is still, as of Tuesday, running through paddocks planted with canola. 

“Those crops which haven’t had water running through them look good,” Mr Donaldson said.

Windrowing would generally start in Stockinbingal around mid-October, however is likely to be pushed back this year due to the country being too wet for machinery and a lack of warm, sunny days to finish crops off. 

“We have had virtually no spring weather yet,” Mr Donaldson said. 

Towards Wallendbeen it is a different story where, while the soil profile is full, water is not laying on the ground in the same vast quantities. 

John Holihan said the heavy basalt soil around the Jindalee Valley is holding up to the rain very well. 

From Wallendbeen to Young, where soil is granite-based, crops are also faring well. 

Mr Holihan said his property is on track for a strong season provided disease does not strike and tractors and headers are able to get onto country to windrow and harvest. 

He said at this stage he is looking at ferrying grain to the road to avoid having trucks in paddocks, however this will be a decision to be made closer to harvest.

“The potential is still there for all of our crops,” Mr Holihan said. 

Plenty of love has been put into Mr Holihan’s crops which were sown with nitrogen fertiliser and spread with urea in late July/early August before being hit with urea again in the past couple of weeks. 

This is in anticipation of an above-average harvest. 

Mr Holihan acknowledged it has been wet saying he has seen water in areas of the property that he has not seen in years.