G’day, my name is Sam May, a GrainGrowers member and fifth-generation farmer. Together with my fiancé Sophie and parents Stephen and Anne, we farm 4,300 hectares of dry land broadacre, 20km south of Loxton in South Australia.
Like almost every grower in South Australia, we have been keeping a very close eye on the weather. Thankfully, we have had some small rainfall recently – up to 10mm – and it was definitely needed. We have been on a bit of a knifes edge and without this rain, we would have been in trouble with our cropping program.
Until that rain, the crops were starting to look a bit second-hand, but even after just a few mm, they began to look fresh again, which is excellent.
This year, we are growing wheat, barley and lentils, with a greater emphasis on barley and lentils than on wheat. When we planned the cropping, we took a chance on the lentils, banking on having a much earlier break in the season than we did. We grow a fair amount of lentils every year, and the thought was that if they didn't come in for harvest, they are a good break crop to have in our rotation anyway.
This year, we have planted approximately 900 hectares of lentils. The barley is almost double that at about 1,700 hectares. Due to the weather conditions, we continued with barley because we felt it would finish better than the 1,000 hectares of wheat we have in the ground.
Over the last four or five years, we have been wheat-heavy in our rotation, but after doing the numbers, barley appears to be a better gross margin for us in our area. Last year, we experienced a significant frost in mid-September, with a cold week that dropped to minus four degrees over a few nights. Although the wheat likely lost 20 to 30% of its yield, the barley yield remained relatively stable. The frost also affected our lentils, reducing the yield from 800kg to one tonne per hectare, down to just 100kg per hectare, shrivelled and discoloured, making them only saleable for feed. It was extremely disappointing, particularly as they were starting to ripen and were full of seeds. There was obviously enough moisture in the seeds for the frost to wreck them, which was a real shame.
We are not really in a frost area, but the lack of rain at the end of the season was a real factor. Talking with Dad, he recalled one year out of his time in farming when he had not harvested anything out of a paddock due to frost. In our area, the approach has been to plant early, not because of potential frost issues, but because we have a better chance of a dry, hot finish.
In terms of our overall approach to cropping, we are not strictly regenerative, but we do grow a significant amount of pulses in our rotation. Some time ago, we had the idea of incorporating 50% legumes and 50% cereal. It turned out that our soil could not handle this approach. We ended up with a mess in a couple of paddocks due to soil drift, simply because legumes don't offer enough cover, and the hills are too fragile. We are returning to a position where we are producing a lot more cereals and trying to maintain the cover that these crops provide.
When it comes to technology, we have used a brown-on-brown camera sprayer since 2020. The green-on-green technology is very promising; however, it still has a way to go before it becomes very usable in my opinion. The targeted application, however, would help further address one of the things we don't particularly like, and that is the chemical side of farming. Spraying is one of those necessities that you have to do, but the fewer chemicals you can use, the better.
Since we've had the camera spray, the time it takes to complete one lap of the farm in summer has dropped from two to three weeks down to a week and a half. With our new, larger sprayer, it takes less time, however, an issue is getting enough water into the tanks to keep it going. We are now considering the purchase of additional tanks and exploring ways to store more water at our fill-up points. Good farming is all about planning to get the job done in the most effective and efficient manner possible.
Networking with others is a great way to expand your knowledge and professional connections. The Innovation Generation conference in Fremantle delivered some insightful presentations, with the keynote addresses by Anna Meares and Stuart McGregor of particular interest. Both these speakers addressed the mindset side of dealing with situations, opening my eyes to different ways of thinking and solving problems.
The wider industry presentations were all relevant and interesting, and I enjoyed the discussion around grain marketing. While we don't struggle with grain marketing, we also don't particularly drive grain marketing to its full potential.
I had an interesting discussion with one of the grain marketing professionals. He suggested that marketing was a bit harder for South Australian growers, as we are more closed off from world markets compared to the east and west. Discussing this with my parents, we decided that the domestic market was a better target for our operations, which aligns with our decision to plant a bit more barley this year.
As a young farmer, I have been fortunate to learn from the experience of my parents. I also make a point of talking with friends and other people to gain other ideas and listen to podcasts like the Farm Owners Academy. Our location places us between two separate grower groups, so we don't directly fall into the area for either one of them. Still, I have attended a few workshops at Low Bank at Waikerie, as well as others put on by Mallee Sustainable Farming. We also regularly go through issues with our agronomists. There is also an agronomy group where we meet once a year to discuss the season and local issues.
The grains industry is a great one to be involved in. It makes me proud to consider how we can grow despite such little rainfall, and how far technology and varieties have come to enable us to remain sustainable and mostly profitable. As an industry, we are very resilient and continue to grow to very high standards. No matter how tough it gets, there is always the next season, and that's the beauty of farming.