Central West Local Land Services

Conditions remain positive, drying trend observed in parts of the region

• Average to above average rainfall for much of the region during March has resulted in variable conditions.
• Recovery continues in the northeast of the region.
• Well-timed, but variable rainfall across the region has seen early winter cropping programs commence in areas that received good rainfall totals.
• Other locations did not receive significant falls with ongoing management of pastures, livestock health and winter cropping program decisions a major consideration for producers.
• Continued rainfall will be important to ensure positive production outlooks are maintained for the remainder of autumn.
• The drought forecast suggests that most of the region will likely be in the Non-Drought category out to 30 June 2025, with regions in the south transitioning into the Drought Affected category (with moderate to high model agreement and low to moderate past accuracy).

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Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

Plant greenness levels were below average for parts of the region during the January to March period.

Note that some of the extremely negative NDVI areas (brown patches) are water bodies.

The NDVI anomaly is a useful measure of vegetation density and plant health. It estimates the amount of green vegetation there is in the landscape compared to what is expected at the given time of year, against the baseline period 1987 - 2020.

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Individual Drought Indicators

Drought indicators continue to remain high for many parts of the region.

• The production outlook remains positive heading into autumn.
• Recent rainfall has contributed to the improvement in the RI values at Nyngan.

To access a Drought History chart for your Parish, visit the Seasonal Conditions Information Portal