NSW wheat and canola farmers face 50 per cent yield loss after record rainfall

Farmers in the state's central west have only been able to plant 50 per cent of their crop this year. (Supplied: Nick Luke)

Farmers in parts of New South Wales are facing losses totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars because record rainfall has stopped them from planting crops.

John Barber farms wheat and canola farmer near Parkes, and like many in the central west, has only planted 50 per cent of his seeds. 

Mr Barber recorded 450 millimetres of rain this year, an unprecedented amount that left paddocks too wet to drive machinery on and delayed the sowing season. 

"There is about a three or four-week period where we can put canola in. Unfortunately that continuous rain means most of us have missed that window," he said. 

"It is a new age for us here at the moment with the weather being so volatile.

Mr Kingham has been forced to replant his crop on three occasions due to above-average rainfall. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)

It is a similar story for Forbes farmer Neil Kingham who has also been forced to replant his crops on three occasions this year. 

"The canola that we sowed in April unfortunately drowned because instead of getting the 10 to 20 millimetres forecasted we got 90 millimetres and that just laid in the paddocks and drowned the seed," he said.

According to agronomist Max Ridley, it is an issue facing many properties across the state. 

"For the majority of New South Wales it's been wet and they have had issues with planting and crop emergence," he said.

Mental health concerns 

With record prices for canola and wheat, this year was being hailed as an opportunity for farmers to recoup the losses experienced during the drought between 2017 and 2019. 

Mr Barber says farmers' mental health is of grave concern following the disruption to sowing. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole )

Mr Barber said instead farmers had seen costs go up and yields would probably be well done come harvest, pushing many to breaking point. 

Perfect conditions needed 

Recently the Bureau of Meteorology announced that La Niña, the weather pattern that has brought heavy rainfall to much of the state, has ended. 

The La Nina weather pattern has brought record rainfall to the state. (ABC Central West: Mollie Gorman)

Mr Kingham said this had given farmers fresh hope that drier conditions could salvage the harvest. 

"We need a period of probably a month to seed the paddocks that are already waterlogged and give them a chance to dry out," he said. 

"From there we need cool conditions with regular rainfall but not too much rain.