Rupanyup grain grower and Grain Producers Australia chairman Andrew Weidemann said he wanted to remain positive about the season.

“It’s fair to say that we’re always optimistic, but the realistic view is that the weather outlook is quite poor,” he said.

“We’re thinking about pulling back sowing in some of our paddocks. Other farmers, but not everyone, are thinking about doing the same.

”Some have even said that they’re not sowing at all. I’ve spoken to growers from all around the state, including the Wimmera and Mallee.”

Mr Weidemann said the weather was not expected to change anytime soon.

“We’re looking realistically with the rain outlook and are not expecting much more,” he said.

“Combined with the lack of sub-soil moisture, it’s certainly concerning at the moment. This means a lot for the region and that things will start to slow.

“It will definitely be a low production year unfortunately. At the moment we’re expecting a tough season ahead.

“It’s only been within the last week that those long-range outlooks have changed and I can only hope the indications are wrong.”

Bureau of Meteorology Victorian duty forcaster Rod Dickson said not much rain was expected in the Wimmera for the next week.

“A front is on its way for Monday, which will pick up some showers,” he said.

“Southern parts of the Wimmera can expect about 5mm of rain, with levels of 15mm expected closer towards the Grampians.

“Northern areas of the Wimmera and the southern Mallee are likely to only receive a few millilitres.

“A lot of that area missed out on that big autumn break for rainfall.”

Some Wimmera farmers have remained optimistic despite the lack of rain.

Pimpinio grain grower Matt Beddison runs a 1500-hectare property and said he had almost finished sowing.

“We picked a time to start sowing and stuck to it; we’ve got most of our crop coming through the ground,” he said.

“Pimpinio received about 30mm of rain for the month of May, which was lower than average but a lot more than some other areas received.

“We’re happy with the progress. There just needs to be a little bit more rain to help get things growing, so we’ll be keeping an eye on the sky.”

Kaniva grains farmer Malcolm Eastwood said he was in a similar situation. Mr Eastwood runs a 1300-hectare property with his son Sam.

“We’re halfway through wheat and will hopefully be finished in the next few days,” he said.

“We’ve been lucky out here and had good moisture all the way through, but we’re always hoping for more. At this point in time, we’re hoping for about 10mm a week just to help get the crop out of the ground.

“Rainfall is varying patch-by-patch, for example just north of Kaniva it has been a different story and has been very dry.”