Rain brings joy for some, but pain for others

The ability of rain to both hinder and help was on full display this week, particularly in the northern agricultural areas.

Widespread falls through the Mid North and pastoral areas has been credited with helping to push prices up at the Jamestown feature ewe sale on Thursday last week.

Little more than a month ago, prices for 1.5-year-old Merino ewes broke through the $350 barrier, as 225 July-shorn Moorundie-blood ewes from Tiller & Thompson, Balaklava, ignited a bidding war on AuctionsPlus.

But that high mark was eclipsed at Jamestown last week, with 95 September-shorn Moorundie Park-bloods from the Lemon family, Gulnare, attracting an incredible price of $361.

While the result surpassed the expectations of Jamestown agents and vendor Sam Lemon, it shows the confidence in the sheep sector at the moment - helped by timely rain and plentiful feed supplies in most areas.

With several pens of young ewes attracting prices in excess of $300, last week's Jamestown sale was much stronger at the top end than the September feature ewe sale, when spring had not yet delivered so much rain and 1.5-year-old ewes topped at $282.

In sharp contrast to this week's stunning sheep results, rain on the upper Eyre Peninsula and through the Mid and Upper North caused more headaches for croppers and hay producers.

Those with hay on the ground will face further quality downgrades and an even longer wait for hay to dry, while headers in early regions were at a standstill as the heavens opened.

Related reading: Hail horror as NSW farmers watch weather

Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of good news for croppers on the horizon, with the Bureau of Meteorology still predicting above-average falls in November. We could be looking at a very stop-start harvest period.

This will be particularly frustrating for croppers wanting to get their best crops in years safely in the silo. Spare a thought, too, for farmers further east who have emerged from years of drought, only to have their crops decimated by hail in just minutes.

Sometimes a kind season can turn cruel very quickly.