19 January 2024

As expected, Total Standing Dry Matter (Kg/DM/Ha) have increased in amounts for north Queensland and into the southern Gulf regions, reflecting the positive wet season rainfall. Areas of high TSDM amounts extend south to the northern Darling Downs, where levels start to noticeably decline. The Condamine NRM region and southern portion of the Burnett Mary NRM region of Qld have seen significant declines in TSDM amounts which is at odds with the rest of the state. Eastern & Southern NSW, as well as most parts of Victoria remain well within TSDM amounts of 1500 – 2000 Kg/DM/Ha. The western division of NSW and the Mallee region of Victoria have seen TSDM levels fall below 900kg/DM/Ha on average in recent weeks. While much of South Australian TSDM levels also remain below 1000kg/DM/Ha there are some areas around the Flinders ranges, north to Roxby Downs and across the unincorporated areas which have good levels of herbage mass, reflecting recent rainfall events. Western Australia also reflects some new growth areas following recent rain bands in the southwest as well as through the Pilbara and Gascoyne. The northern Kimberly region and across into the top end of the Northern Territory have TSDM totals reflective of the current wet season.

The contribution of Green Standing biomass to total feed availability remains most noticeable in coastal NSW, particularly in the north coast and lower Hunter regions. The high green dry matter levels continue north along the Qld coast and hinterland, however much of the green growth remains restricted to the eastern seaboard of that state. Further north the Top End and northern Kimberley in WA also have significant levels of Green Standing Dry Matter.

Fractional Cover continues to highlight the areas of herbage growth on the back of rainfall events. The rainfall patterns including storm events in recent weeks, along with the accumulated soil moisture from pre-Christmas events is reflected in most states.

Dead Standing Dry Matter amounts are now exhibiting a degree of variation across the states. While much of Queensland has lower levels of Dead Standing Dry Matter, the southern Gulf, leading south towards the channel country shows high levels of dead material (>1500kg DM/Ha) a result of earlier growth and a good end to 2023. Similarly, the areas around the Flinders Ranges and further north in South Australia also have total amounts in the range of 1200 – 1800kg DM/Ha. In southwest Western Australia there remains a distinct band of Dead Standing Material above 1500kg DM/Ha running from north of Geraldton in a south easterly direction towards Merredin and Kalgoorlie.

The current Seasonal Ranking has seen a continued improvement for much of Northern Queensland, which is now recorded as in the Top 90 decile range, indicating seasonal conditions very much above the average. The areas of Qld and NSW that are considered average or below average have contracted to the western regions, such as southwest Qld and the northwest of NSW.