EP Soil Moisture Snap Shot 23 September 2026

Dale Grey, Agriculture Victoria, Bendigo

The BoM Australian Water Outlook (AWO) modelled soil moisture decile for perennial pastures predicts average soil moisture in many parts with drier occurring along the western coast. The far northeast is the only region remaining wetter.

The BoM AWO modelled plant available soil moisture percentage, is the background image in the following three maps. This predicts that most perennial pasture, would be less than 50% full. The exception is the southern tip which is up to 70% full. The soil moisture probe network of cropped paddocks (values taken from 23 September) shows a good correlation with the modelled values. Most sites are sub 50% particularly in the north. A few scattered locations are higher. It would appear that soil moisture reserves will be sufficient to get crops through at most locations. It will be interesting to see whether some is left behind for next year.

Net soil moisture is unsurprisingly negative for the last 30 days. Only two sites have experienced modest water use, where the majority are greater at over 20 percentage points. The median water use at all sites was 39 percentage points but was as high as 54-56% at 4 locations.

An addition in this edition is a look at the depth of active water use by crop roots. A few sites are still extracting shallowly, most at mid depths and some are actively using water from depth. This year could tell a good story about subsoil constraints and rooting depth if the plants extract to the lower level of their ability. If they mature without using all there water it will be less useful analytically, but will be handy insurance for next year.

Join us for our Friday Climate Forum online session with Dale Grey on Friday 9 October, 12.30-1.15pm. Dale will update us with current conditions and the modelled climate predictions for the next few months for Eyre Peninsula. There will be time for questions at the end of the session. Please register to get the link.

This work has been made possible through the EP Sustainable Agriculture project, which is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program and delivered by AIR EP for the Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.