SOME farm dams are full for the first time since 2016 thanks to a second year of above average rainfall on the Border.
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Table Top agronomist Leon Martin made the observation as he commented on the precipitation experienced across the region in 2021.
He said run-off in September had driven dam inundation.
"It was a case of getting the soil profile wet enough and then getting a decent event on top of that," Mr Martin said.
Albury's rainfall tally for last year was 818.2 millimetres, a substantial rise on the 702mm recorded in 2020 which was dramatically greater than the 411.4 which was recorded in 2019.
The mean annual mark for the city is 691mm.
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The driest month last year was April when 2.2mm was measured, while in November there was 123.4mm which saw it edge out July, 121.4mm, to be the wettest month of 2021.
Mr Martin said the swings in rainfall made it tricky for graziers anticipating a typical weather pattern.
"From a pastoral perspective it was a hard year," he said.
"There was early rain and then it was dry in April-May and wet again in July.
"It was a stop-start year.
"If you were lightly stocked it was an easier year, for anybody that had their normal stocking or higher it was a hard year.
"A lot of the guys up in Holbrook had to feed sheep, where they wouldn't normally."
From a cropping standpoint, there were above average yields.
However, Mr Martin said a significant amount of grain had been downgraded in quality because of spring-early summer rain damaging crops on the eve of harvesting.
He estimated reductions in value of between 30 and 50 per cent, following assessments at grain terminals.
Fellow agronomist Desi Toohey said overall the damp year, which saw La Nina summer weather system declared by the Bureau of Meteorology in November, had been positive for growers.
"It was very pleasing to achieve the rainfall totals we did and as a result a lot of crop yields were above average and in some cases there were record results," he said.
In the western Riverina, there was 430.6mm tallied at Deniliquin up from 422.8 last year.
Yarrawonga had 622mm compared to 515.2 in 2020, while Wangaratta had 647.6 to outdo its previous mark of 549.6.
Rutherglen's official rain gauge netted 656.6mm across 2021 to be wetter than Yarrawonga but drier than Albury.
Five monthly totals above 100mm helped Mount Hotham to an annual total above four figures, 1079mm.
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