We continuously crop around 1250 hectares with very variable soil types ranging from shallow red heavier country to lighter sand over clay soils, often all in one paddock with a non-wetting sand hill for good measure! Our average rainfall is around 360mm. Our predominant rotation is Wheat and Lentils but we also crop faba beans and barley in some paddocks not suited to lentils.
As in most areas, last season was extremely good. We made the decision to dry sow and actually had a very dry start followed by a huge dump of rain just after we finished seeding. Although what we needed, it did throw its own challenges with some Pre Ems, causing some increased crop effect in wheat where luximax was used. Both rust and powdery mildew caused issues in wheat and we ended up doing 3 fungicides to control this. Harvest ended up going relatively smoothly, we had a few issues early on trying to harvest green lentils blocking up the header but once we got over them harvest was fairly smooth, a big relief considering how wet the finish to the season was and Dad describing the harvest of ‘92’ (very wet!) Yields were some of our best ever, and overall a great season for everyone in our area.
The lead-up to this season's sowing involved spreading SOA or gypsum on our acid sands for Sulfur, summer spraying and removing old fencelines to allow for bigger more efficient sized paddocks. Due to the big harvest and the need to spray almost straight after harvest, we weren’t able to get as many of the ‘extra’ jobs done such as delving on our non-wetting sands. We made the decision to purchase some Brumby wheat for its powdery mildew resistance on our sandy country and Matador for the majority of the farm. Thunder lentils are also put in to bulk up seed for next year. I look forward to seeing how these three varieties go!
This season is off to a great start with good early rain and follow-up rains since. We have finished our first round of urea spreading on the cereals, the grass sprays on the legumes and have begun on the broadleaf and trace element spraying program on some of the wheat. We made the decision to use broadleaf pre-emergent herbicides such as Callisto and Voraxor so that paired with the use of Flutriafol on the fertiliser means most of the wheat will not need spraying right up to GS 32 which allows us to nail the fungicide timing and use less costly broadleaf chemicals. Overall everything is looking quite good, fingers crossed for the rest of the season!
The availability of parts and machinery seems to be something that is becoming more and more of an issue for us. We have had field bins on order for more than 12 months and no sign of them coming anytime soon. It seems you need to know what you’re going to need and order it at least a year in advance just to be a chance to get it!
Overall I feel very lucky and privileged to be a grain grower, I believe the future ahead is very exciting, especially as technology, varieties and chemistries advance. I’m looking forward to a (hopefully) good season ahead for all and hope to see some of you at Innovation Generation in Adelaide!