Rainfall across south eastern Queensland and most of New South Wales is being welcomed, somewhat cautiously, by landholders in drought. Desperate farmers in northern and central NSW have had, in some cases, their best falls in a year, but the state's north-west largely missed out.

Wal Friend, who owns a station near Walgett in north-western NSW, says he's had enough to get some pasture, growing but little else. "It's not going to really solve our problems." Meanwhile some Queensland farmers are considering the potential damage from flooding rain. Cattle producer Jim Besley, from central Queensland, says he hopes the benefit outweighs the damage. "I doubt whether anybody can get out yet to see just how they're going as far as stock losses."

With warnings of an El Nino event this winter, the rain is even more precious to landholders.The Bureau of Meteorology says there's more to come, good news for those hoping to plant a winter crop.

New South Wales

Desperate farmers at Wee Waa in northern NSW have experienced their biggest rainfall totals in 12 months. Last night the pub was full of farmers and contractors unable to work because of the wet. Local publican Barry Noble says it's the biggest crowd he's had since Daft Punk launched their album in the town last May.

"So we've had a lot of farmers come into town and visit the local. I'd say a lot of them are just happy to have rain to talk about. "It's been pretty quiet here for six months, not many cattle left because they've had to get rid of them, no wheat last year basically."

An extensive cloud band is delivering widespread rain over eastern New South Wales, but falls are varying. Farmers around Coonamble are looking more cheerful after some handy rain but in the NSW north west rainfalls have been disappointing. Wal Friend runs Carlton Station, just outside Walgett. He's had 40 millimetres all up and says that'll be enough to get some pasture growing, but little else.

"It's not going to really solve our problems. "Probably west of here it's lighter again. "There's still a bit of a patch around Walgett and north and halfway out to Bree (Brewarrina), that's still pretty dry."

Another outcome of the downpour has been the temporary suspension of oyster harvest. On the south coast of NSW, oyster harvesting in a number of the region's waterways has stopped due to the rain and the run-off into the waterways where the oysters are farmed. But in the context of one of the best seasons in years, Narooma oyster grower David still welcomes the wet weather.

"Rain is welcome to us too as we need rain into the estuaries for the oysters to grow in autumn time. "The nutrient run-off and also to aid in catching of young oysters on the plastic material we put out on the water."

Queensland

Yeppoon on the central Queensland coast has received over 500 millimetres of rain in the last 48 hours. The rain coincided with a high tide and there has been flash flooding around the area, with fears there will be more today. Cattle producer Jim Besley from Barmoya, near Yeppoon, says he's had just over 200 millimetres of rain, but he knows of others who've had twice that amount.

"It's been heavy enough, but good soaking sort of rain, we haven't had any real major big downpours. "I think they did over on the coast a bit more, it was fairly heavy there in patches. "I don't anticipate any problems with my stock, but there's some low lying areas that could have problems. "I doubt whether anybody can get out yet to see just how they're going as far as stock losses."

Cotton picking on the Darling Downs in Southern Queensland has ground to a halt after widespread rain in the area drenched crops. The cotton picking started early this year after the cotton crop struggled through a hot dry summer. Cecil Plains farmer Jan Le Frenz says there are concerns the wet weather could see quality downgrades.

"It's rather a frustrating position to be in, from a cotton point of view it's about the worst time for the rain to have fallen." "It will delay harvest, there will be some downgrading and when we do get mobile the pick won't be as clean." "Overall it's really a terrific event, just you're very torn between the cotton crop and the rest of the farm."

Source - http://www.abc.net.au/