Junee farmers bogged down in big wet

JUNEE has been soaked by an extraordinary amount of rain, with accumulative six-day totals topping near 100mm in some parts of the Shire—and if the current forecast rings true, we could see up to another 40 mm fall before Sunday.

Rain has fallen almost every day in Junee for the past week, with the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the Junee Treatment Works recording 87.8 mm since last Friday, November 29.

Some rural properties have recorded in excess of 100 mm.

Thunderstorms were again impacting the Shire at the time of publication on Thursday afternoon, while a further 20 mm is forecast to fall on Friday, and again Saturday.

The soggy start to December follows what was an exceptionally wet November, which saw 85.6 mm recorded in Junee—more than the combined totals of August, September and October.

This is nearly double the town’s average November rainfall of 45 mm, and marks the fourth consecutive year that more than 80 mm of rain has fallen in November, a first in Junee’s recorded history dating back to 1891.

The Junee Shire was declared “drought affected” before the rains arrived last week, while parts of the Cootamundra-Gundagai council area are officially drought-declared.

Farmers have found themselves bogged down in the big wet, with the relentless rain hindering harvesting efforts.

The deluge has turned paddocks into slosh pits, with a header pictured at Harefield on Thursday highlighting the challenges of operating in such conditions.

Burrinjuck Dam is currently at 75 per cent capacity, with releases increasing to 7,000 megalitres per day, up from 500 on Wednesday.