Rain in parts of South Australia bring short-term relief to some farmers during drought

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Several days of persistent rain in parts of South Australia has brought relief to some farmers facing record-dry conditions, while others say more is needed.

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00:00On John Lush's farm, a transformation is underway.

00:07There's nothing like rainfall to lift a farmer's spirits.

00:10This year, he planted canola seeds into dry soil at his farm at Malala, north of Adelaide,

00:17with doubts over how well it would germinate.

00:20But after days of rainfall, new signs of life are emerging.

00:24So we've had more rain in the last week than we had in the previous seven months.

00:28Further south, dairy farmer Rob Brokenshire's rain gauge has been empty for nearly a year.

00:34But the more than 50 millimetres he's collected at Mount Compass have helped ease both dry pastures and farmers' nerves.

00:43Mentally making us feel a lot better. We're starting to see germination.

00:47He hopes the change in weather will be the start of a rural recovery.

00:52This rain may be the start of returning billions of dollars into the South Australian economy.

00:58While some farmers have been enjoying the sights of sodden fields,

01:02for others the rainfall hasn't brought the widespread relief they'd been hoping for.

01:07Across the state, the south-east has seen some of the heaviest falls.

01:12Mount Gambier has received around 60 millimetres since Friday.

01:17Just over 40 millimetres has fallen in the Mount Lofty ranges and 28 in the Adelaide CBD.

01:24Further north, Port Piri recorded more than 30 millimetres.

01:28But there wasn't much of a soaking for York Peninsula, with Cadena only receiving about 13 millimetres of rain.

01:36Parts of the northern agricultural area didn't fare so well, especially inland parts, so for example the river land.

01:42Despite the downpour, farmers are still well short of their normal rain levels.

01:48The rain that we've had is fantastic, but we're way short of what's required for runoff into our swamps.

01:58The laminated

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