The Dept of Primary Industries and Regional Development Drought Forecast suggests that most of the Northern Tableland’s region is likely to transition into the Drought Affected category at the end of May.
The expansion of drought declared areas in NSW is being driven by a mix of conditions including continued long term soil moisture deficits, ineffective climate conditions for production and continued meteorological drought, along with the increased chance of below median rainfall.
The news comes as Northern Tablelands Local Land Services says despite the dry conditions, positive production outlooks are being maintained across the region according to its latest seasonal update.
The report stated February rainfall was near average to below average across the region, with isolated storm rain events occurring in some areas with some locations in the region continuing to see a declining trend in the underlying indicators of Soil Water, Plant Growth and Rainfall influenced by warmer and drier conditions in February.
The Outlook says continued follow up rainfall will be needed to maintain production outlooks for the region with many producers continuing to monitor conditions as they adjust planning and management decisions for their production systems over the next month.
