OUR weather bureau is predicting a La Niña event for our climate this year.

They call it the “great rainmaker” as it increases the prospect of a soaking start to 2025 right across Australia.

The opposite event is called El Nino, or lower than normal rainfall, which creates great fear in the farming community and ultimately a decrease in food supply and increase in food price.

I have owned farming and grazing properties for some 40 years and have learnt to roll with the punches each season delivers.

I have come to the position of believing that it is much better to be farming mud rather than trying to farm dust. Droughts are mind destroying events and I survived the 1965 to 1973 shocker for the New England area of our state.

In our coastal location we enjoy a magical climate, but we are basically living in a sandpit.

When it rains, the water goes straight through and is quickly lost to our gardens and plants, but they survive because we regularly receive meaningful falls.

The Spanish names for our climatic conditions shows how long our society has appreciated these events, long before Australia was settled.

But they still control our way of life so need to be understood.

Basically, our predicted La Niña event is created by the cooling of the tropical part of the Pacific Ocean.

The easterly winds blowing towards Australia increases cloud development, resulting in rain over much of Australia. La Niña usually forms in winter, provides an abundant spring then gradually weakens over summer, our major growing season.

Whilst the concept for a perfect coastal holiday involves many sunshine days in which to enjoy the surf or sporting pursuits, it also provides the opportunity for children to get off their devices and move outside into the fresh air to go bike riding or off to the beach.

Perfect weather for communities who depend on the tourist dollar for their livelihood.

Whilst I’m happy to accept the weather the way it is, for economic and farming reasons, I love the probability that we are to enjoy a wetter than normal year in order to benefit each of our water supply, gardens and farming opportunities.

By John BLACKBOURN