Where other parts of Victoria have received almost no rain, Wimmera farmers have been blessed by consistent wet weather this winter.
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As of Monday night, Horsham had received 127 milimetres across June, July and August, nearing the long-term average of 144 milimetres across these three months.
Warracknabeal had received 141mm, Edenhope 123, Nhill 147, Kanagulk 196, Stawell 159 and Ararat 227.
Natimuk farmer Michael Sudholz has received 24 milimetres this month already. He said the wet weather was a "big bonus" at this time of year.
"It's put some confidence in the job," he said.
"We've got limited access to some of our roads and some paddocks that are too wet to get on to spray at the moment, which is a really good problem to have. As the old saying goes, there is money in mud.
"We're definitely in a better position this year than last. It feels a bit like an old-fashioned season to me: when we're expecting rain we're getting really good ones, so things couldn't look better at the moment."
Mr Sudholz has been farming crops and running sheep in the Wimmera since 1980. He said the next six weeks would be season-defining for many of the region's crop growers.
"It doesn't matter what sort of year we've had, between now and the end of September is when we look for that finishing rain to fill the grain heads, and that makes or breaks us quite a few times," he said.
"We feel very privileged at this stage of the game because we know you don't have to go too far north to find people missing out. I'm selling hay to a guy in Narromine in NSW and they had their first dust storm the other day, so it's a real contrast for him to come down and see us."
Victorian Farmers Federation President David Jochinke, of Murra Warra, said the Victorian regions of Millewa and East Gippsland were experiencing their worst droughts on record.
"There is little to no chance of them having any sort of a season," he said.
"Even though a Wimmera farmer may not be directly affected by the circumstances up there, it does mean the amount of grain or hay normally produced up there - that won't be now - will need to be covered elsewhere. So potentially it puts more of a floor on commodity prices."
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