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Soaking rain across much of Australia's southeastern growing areas was expected to lead to a strong rebound in confidence in coming months, agribusiness bank Rabobank said in its latest survey of Australian farm confidence.
The quarterly survey, conducted between mid-April and mid-May, showed Australian farmers' hopes for a turnaround in drought conditions had begun to falter in the weeks leading up to recent rain.
This followed a record jump in confidence earlier in the year, as Australia's worst drought in 100 years showed early signs of easing.
Recent rainfall across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and parts of Queensland and Tasmania states was the best news that Australian farmers had had in a long time, Rabobank's general manager rural Australia Peter Knoblanche said.
"While we still need much more rain in many areas, in particular for irrigation, this rainfall has come at a crucial time in the winter cropping programme and will also provide an enormous boost in pasture growth for graziers," he said.
A large section of western New South Wales and southwestern Queensland received up to 100 millimetres of rain, as did parts of Victoria, Tasmania and central Australia.
Most of eastern Australia's grain-growing areas received up to 50 mm, while South Australia also received good falls.
Irrigators, especially those involved in cotton, dairy and horticulture, were still facing very low storage levels and the prospect of significantly reduced water allocations without further substantial rainfall, he warned.
- REUTERS
