![June rainfall falls short of average, but brings hope for Border farmers June rainfall falls short of average, but brings hope for Border farmers](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205593064/b0897b9d-dde2-425e-9130-76e00e9fd751.jpg/r0_0_8173_5449_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Saturday's light but consistent rainfall has laid a solid foundation for crops to thrive in the spring, a Border agronomist says.
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Albury airport recorded 19 millimetres of rain on Saturday, June 29 - the highest amount recorded all month.
It brings the total rainfall for June so far to 39.2 millimetres, well below the historical average of 62.2 millimetres.
On Saturday, the wet weather spread across the Border, with Rutherglen recording 18.2 millimetres, Mount Buller 4.2 millimetres, Wangaratta 14.6 millimetres, Benalla 17.4 millimetres and Deniliquin 7.8 millimetres.
Chris Toohey, an agronomist at Elders Albury, said after a dry autumn, Saturday's rain was "essential" to support crops through the growing season.
"It was really helpful to get crops and pastures through to the July, August period when the temperatures increase and we actually really get some solid growth," he said.
"It won't produce a lot of biomass and feed at the moment to give graziers much reprieve, but it'll certainly help build a soil profile of moisture that will then help us in the springtime."
Mr Toohey said the lack of rain during autumn has put pressure on cropping and grazing farmers.
"We didn't get the autumn rain, so we didn't have the growth," he said.
"Because we haven't got the growth, we're not going to get substantial growth through the winter period because you get the heavy frost conditions and you don't get substantial growth.
"Therefore, the rainfall we're getting now through the next couple of months is important just to set us up for later on in the year when it's really important."
No more rainfall is predicted for Albury for the rest of June.